


Road Not Taken

by BBKat9



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 80's Vibes, AU, Blood, Creatures, First Love, Horror, M/M, Mistery, Monsters, Not Beta Read, Secrets, Supernatural Elements, Swearing, Thriller, alternative universe, alternative universe stranger things, laboratory, stranger things inspired, super power, violance, yellow wood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-10 05:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19900528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBKat9/pseuds/BBKat9
Summary: *Heavily inspired by Stranger Things*Yellow Wood was considered a small, pleasant city not far from Seoul, which was founded primarily for the laboratory at the outskirts of the city, so that the workers there could live closer to their workplace. The Yellow Wood Laboratory was owned by the government and carried out biological researches, but the workers there weren’t able to talk about what exactly was going on between the walls.*Bang Chan's dad is working at the Yellow Wood Laboratory and one day a boy escapes from there because he thinks he did a terrible thing and a monster is on loose.





	1. The Gate

Yellow Wood was considered a small, pleasant city not far from Seoul, which was founded primarily for the laboratory at the outskirts of the city, so that the workers there could live closer to their workplace. The Yellow Wood Laboratory was owned by the government and carried out biological researches, but the workers there weren’t able to talk about what exactly was going on between the walls.

  
Bang Chan's father also worked in the lab, but never talked about his work at home. As a matter of fact, his father didn’t bring his work home at all and it was okay, but for some reason it was worrying at the same time. In fact, the whole lab was surrounded by a kind of mystery that wasn’t a good omen at all, but they never talked about it at home. Instead, their topic was mostly whether Chan had already decided which universities to apply for. In this case, the boy envied his younger brother, Felix was still a high school student, he didn't have to deal with university applications at all.

Chan was sure his father wouldn’t understand that he didn’t wish to study any further and didn’t even want to study biology at university like him. Instead, he dreamed that he and his two best friends - Han Jisung and Seo Changbin - would once became famous with the mixtapes that they produced in the basement of Bang house. For a long time, Chan thought that he couldn’t share his passion for music with anyone else, until Jisung and Changbin became a part of his life. The two younger boys were just as enthusiastic as he was and since the three have worked together the songs have been almost made themselves. Chan always invented something new, so as Changbin and Jisung did. Chan was really grateful that there were still people in this unfortunate city who could make him feel happiness.

  
He often dreamed that he would once move to Seoul, perhaps he and his friends would be able to found their own music company there. Of course, he knew it wouldn't be easy, but it was a nice dream. It would have been what could really make him happy and that was what his father didn't understand at all. According to his father, the future could not be based on dreams, but instead on knowledge and rationality. Chan knew his father was good-natured, he would’ve liked to have a secure future for both of his sons, but Chan's dream didn't fit into this picture.

"Did you have a tiring day?" The boy heard as his mother asked his father, who probably arrived home at that minute. It was almost nine in the evening, but in the past few weeks it almost became usual thet he get back home later. Actually since the beginning of the summer break, the man has spent less time at home and more time in the lab, he said they’ve come to an end of an important experiment.

  
"Yes." his father nodded, then sat down next to the dining table. "We still have a lot of things to do, this research... we're almost at the finish, I think."

  
"What exactly are you experimenting?" Felix asked as they began to eat. He was curious, it was always his brother's nature, which was sometimes annoying, but Chan had a hard time denying how much he loved his brother. The younger boy was kind and friendly, it would’ve been difficult not to love him. Not to mention how sometimes he was uneasy, it was the hardest for him to learn korean again, and Chan was sure he’s missing Australia the most in the family. It has been ten years since they moved back, but Felix still talked a lot about their childhood in Australia.

"Felix, you know I can't talk about it." their father replied in a quiet, tired voice. "The Russian delegation will arrive tomorrow, we have to give them accurate calculations by then."

"Don't worry about it, surely everything will be fine tomorrow!" Their mother gently touched her husband's arm.

"Yes, yes." He nodded and turned to Chan. "How are you with the application forms?" He inquired as he finally began to eat.

"Well, you know, I’m still thinking." Chan shrugged. “There are many possibilities, not only within the country, but also abroad. I could even go back to Australia. ” He added.

"It's not a bad idea." his father nodded, but Chan felt the man was not there spiritually. He was probably nervous about the Russian delegation arriving tomorrow and tired of today’s work.

That night, Chan retreated back to his small studio in the basement as usual. Of course, the cellar could not be called a real studio, but it was the boy's shelter. It was the place where he spent countless days with Jisung and Changbin, where the first mixtape was born, then the next one and the third one. It was an important place for Chan and he wasn't sure he could easily leave it behind. Of course, he knew well what his father was expecting from him. He wanted him to go on scientific studies as he himself did, maybe Chan already had a secured place in the Yellow Wood Laboratory. But that wasn't what the boy wanted, and he knew thet his father would be disappointed at the end when he’ll tell him he wouldn't go anywhere and instead try to release his songs. He almost saw his father's disappointed face in front of his eyes.

****

The young boy leaned against the cold wall and extended his arm forward. The only source of light came from the outside, it penetrated the thin window in the upper corner of the room, but the boy had become accustomed to the darkness and even found it cozy. His fingers were gently stroked along the inside of his left wrist, there were two letters written there: "LM" - and underneath that a line of numbers "251098" - he had no idea what they meant, but he remembered that they were always on his wrist since day one. Apart from these walls, he knew nothing in the world, this cold room was his home, and strangely enough, somewhere deep inside, he felt safe here.

  
But recently, things have changed, the doctors have become more impatient with him. They did a lot of tests as they wanted to get closer to their task and the boy had to believe that these tests would help. They were in the last period and he had to go to several trainings, use his ability several times, and this physically weakened him by the end of the day. But the task he had to do was coming to an end and he had to be strong enough to open the gate to the other world these people were so eager to discover. They called themselves scientists, but the boy didn't know exactly what that meant.

  
His gaze wandered to his other wrist, the tracking bracelet glittering silvery in the dark. It still squeezed his wrist a little, he also saw the tiny wounds on his skin, the dial showed the exact time and his heart rate, not that these information were important to him.

One of the doctors said that his father would arrive tonight and visit him, but the boy couldn't decide if he could believe him. He remembered his father's face, he couldn't even tell when he saw man last time, but he was grumpy at their last meeting - he was not satisfied with the results they achieved so far, since it seemed impossible to open the gate that time. The boy somehow understood his father's disappointment as he was the obstacle in the whole thing, but he wasn’t punished. He has never received any harsh punishment, and he has always been told that he should concentrate more closely next time.

"Саша!" His father kindly spoke, his eyes became tearful when he heard the man's voice, and after he got up from his bed he ran to hug him. 

"Папа…" He whispered with tears.

“Все в порядке! Я здесь!” Said the man, stroking his son's hair with slow motion.

"Я скучаю по тебе!" He cried as he clung to the man's jacket, but soon after their reunion, he sat in another cold room next to a white table.

The boy knew what he expect from him, it was time to show how much his ability had developed over the past half year. He was shaking as he stared at the glass left on the table. His head was still hurt badly from earlier tests, but he didn't want to disappoint his father and the glass moved when he tilted his head sideways. His father smiled when they looked at each other.

****

Chan saw his father drive away from the house when he finally went upstairs. He almost didn’t sleep a blink at night, but he was happy because he almost finished a new song. Felix waited for him while sitting in the kitchen, eating a waffle and texting wildly on his phone.

"I hope your dad will have a lighter day today." their mother remarked as she put another plate of waffles on the table. "If the Russians don't like something, who knows what could happen?"

"We don't even know what dad is doing in that super secret lab." Chan said rawly.

"Don't be angry because of his work ..." her mother began.

"I'm not angry, I just don't understand this. Does anyone know what's going on there at all? ”Chan asked, as Felix looked up from his phone.

"Hyung, you know Dad can't talk about it." the boy replied, repeating his father's monologue from last night.

"I know, nevermind." Chan replied, pulling a plate in front of himself. "Changbin and Jisung will come later."

"Are you going to be in the cellar all day again? Sometimes you should go out for the day, you have a summer break!” said his mother.

"We can't, we are working."

"At least you go out with your friends, right Felix?"

“Of course, Hyunjin and Jeongin are coming soon. Maybe Seungmin will come later too. We’ll visit Woojin hyung at his new workplace. ”Felix replied enthusiastically.

"He has a new job? Well, did you hear that, Chan? ” She asked with a smile as she looked at her older son.

"I heared it, Mom." The boy replied bored.

"He's working at the ice cream shop." said Felix, smiling. "Of course, it's just a summer job, but it's good until then."

Kim Woojin was almost perfect - at least Chan was sure his mother would think so. Of course, there was something in it, Woojin was a little bit like Felix, someone who simply couldn't be hated. Every mum's favorite, polite and smart, always smiling. Someone like Chan has never been. Of course, he was also polite and certainly his good grades meant he was smart, but somehow he was still different. Maybe it's because he planned to spend the whole summer break in the cellar, who knows?

Changbin and Jisung arrived shortly after their mother left to work, they could even eat leftover waffels too. Felix was still at home for a while, which was just annoying because somehow Jisung would love it if he would hang out in the cellar with the three of them.

"Actually, my friends are coming soon, so I'll stay up here, then we'll go away anyway and you… you can do whatever you are doing down there." said the younger boy.

"You know we're recording songs, right?" Chan asked.

"Of course…" Felix nodded.

"Really, there is this song we just wrote ..." Jisung explained very enthusiastically, but Chan was sure Felix didn't care at all. Shortly afterwards, Chan could almost see on his brother's face that he was relieved when Hyunjin and Jeongin arrived. "Uh, I think I'm in love with your brother." Jisung said as they went down to the cellar.

"Felix?” Chan laughed, but Jisung's face was serious as he turned toward him. "Are you serious now?" He asked in shock.

"Yes, I suspected it for some time now." the younger nodded. "But it seems like that he thinks that I am a total idiot."

"Well, that is often the case with my friends." Chan replied.

"Don’t you find it odd that he is in love with your brother?" Changbin asked as he sat in his chair and turned on Chan's laptop.

"No?" Chan asked. "Well I'm sorry that he is in love with my brother of all people, but you know..."

"Hey!" Jisung laughed as he threw a pillow at the older one. "He’s just perfect, you know? Felix is perfect! ”

"If you say so." Chan shrugged, then moved closer to Changbin to start the demo of the almost finished song yesterday. Even if Jisung was in love with his brother it was more important to finish this song for them.

****

Dr. Bang carefully fixed the little paw like things to the boy's forehead that were plugged into a larger electric machine, they had already done this before, but the boy felt different now, he was nervous. Behind the glass walls, his father watched and nodded encouragingly when their eyes met for a short moment, even smiled for a minute, then turned back to talk to the other men who watched the events outside.

"Why are you trembling so much?" Dr. Bang asked and the boy looked back at him.

"I don't want to disappoint him." the boy replied shyly.

"Well I heard that the night before you could able to show him how much your ability has evolved. Your father is proud of you. ” the man said in a encouraging voice, Dr. Bang was always nice to him. “Now it's just important to focus on the gate, do you understand? We’ll start now, I know you can do it, you can open it! ”

The boy nodded and Dr. Bang stepped away from him, and after one last encouraging glance he left the room to take his place on the other side of the glass walls too. The boy was left alone in the room and next time he only heard the man's voice in the microphone.

"Concentrate, everything is fine, you will succeed!" The man's voice was nice and reassuring, the boy had to believe what he said.

When he closed his eyes, he saw the yellow-leaved trees in front of him and the gate behind them. Now the picture was much sharper than ever before, but he knew he was too far away, so he had to get closer to actually open it.

"Everything is fine, you do it very well!" Dr. Bang's voice was plesent to the boy's ear, but he heard something else. There was a sound like when an electric machine was too close to someone's ear, but he decided to ignore that sound. He had to concentrate on the gate. He moved slowly, but at last he was close enough and at that moment everything turned into black. The trees disappeared and only the gate and him were facing each other.

He could no longer hear Dr. Bang's voice, the darkness and the silence were complete. He looked back for a minute, but there was nothing just darkness behind him as well, so he turned back to the gate and slowly lifted his hands up. He felt that he needed all his strength to finish this task and remembered his father for a minute, he couldn’t disappoint him, it was the great moment they had been waiting for.

"I can do it!" He said to himself and placed his palms on the smooth surface of the gate carefully.

He knew somewhere deep that it would hurt, but he was not prepared for this kind of pain. His ears were ringing, he felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, and his own screams seemed to be quiet compared to the inexplicable voice he heard soon after. All his strength had to be cast, but the gate opened or more cracked and broke into huge pieces. Yellow light blinded the boy for a minute when he opened his eyes and then suddenly everything changed. He was afraid, blood spilled from his mouth and nose, he panted desperately. Behind the gate was a terrible storm, so loud that it was almost deafening. He felt the tears in his eyes and squeezed his hands to his ear to close out the sound of the storm.

"NO! NO! NO! ” His screaming echoed in the cold room. He didn't know how he got back, nor how he got to the floor, nor why the tracking device whistle so deafly on his wirst, but he tore the paw like things off his forehead immediately.

"What the hell happened to him?" A voice nervously asked. His father said russian instructions in the background, and he continued to scream in pain and when someone wanted to get in touch with him he became more scared which resulted in the man hurrying to his aid suddenly rising into the air and swinging against the opposite wall. His head cracked open, he died there, the boy crawled back into one of the corners in horror as he saw that his blood was painting the white tiles of the floor to a reddish color.

"Give him sedatives!” Someone screamed and this was the last thing he remembered before he had fallen back into the darkness again. The boy, however, knew that he had done something terrible a few minutes ago.

****

The streets of Yellow Wood were shaken by an unexpected earthquake that afternoon. The radio was announced shortly afterwards that there was no cause for concern, no major disaster, no injuries. Chan and his friends were just sitting in his old-fashioned car and headed downtown to buy some candy for Jisung. As it turned out because of the summer break all the street were full with students, but they also need at least half an hour to spend outside the cellar.

“The laboratory issued a statement that there was no personal injury inside. But they are still looking for signs of harm in the building.” said the reporter on the televisoion at one of the show-window.

"Isn’t your dad working in the lab?" Changbin asked suddenly.

"Yes, he is. He'd probably have called mom if anything happened to him. Although we can never talk about his job. ” he replied bitterly.

"Weird." Changbin said, then turned away from the television, while Jisung joined them again now with his candy in his hands.

"I didn't even felt that earthquake." the younger explained.

"We were sitting in the car and you yelled in fear." Changbin said rawly.

"It was quite unexpected." Chan said, feeling somehow strange, but couldn’t explain why. Yellow Wood was a weird town of it’s kind, but the strangest was always the laboratory. Chan knew his job was important to his father, but he couldn't get it all why it was so important and these secrets around the lab made him uneasy.

"You all right? Are you worried about your father? You can call him, if… ” Jisung said.

"No, he can't take his phone to the lab." Chan replied. "He sure told mother if anything happened to him."

"Hyung! Chan hyung!” He heared Felix’s voice from behind him and soon his brother was there next to him. He was obviously more frightened than Chan. "Did you feel the earthquake? What about Dad? Shouldn't we try to call? ”The younger asked quickly.

"Felix, relax, you know he can't take his cellphone there." Chan replied and patted her younger shoulder to calm him down. "Come, my car is here, we go home ... if there's something, Mom knows it!"

"Yes, of course, just ... Dad ... you know ..." Felix nervously explained. It was clear that he was worried, Chan felt like that too. But he couldn't even say it out loud that something was never right with that lab and how much he hate it that their own father was not honest with them.

"Do you want some candy?" Jisung asked and gave the bag to Felix. Felix smiled and accepted the candy.

"Where are your friends?" Chan asked as he pulled out the car key from his pocket.

"They went home, I didn't go with them because I saw you from the ice cream shop." Felix replied and finally they headed for the car.

Chan was hoping that their father might be home and waiting for them as he drove them home. From time to time he looked out the window and saw the laboratory building in the distance, somehow it didn't seem to be inviting. As a matter of fact, the sight itself has made the boy feel uncomfortable, and now he was exceptionally grateful that Jisung distracted Felix's attention in the back. He would have hated to find out if something had happened to his father or maybe he had caused something that caused the earthquake earlier.

****

The boy was trembling, he couldn’t fall asleep. He pulled himself up from the uncomfortable bed that he had spent on many nights before, but he knew he couldn't be invisible. The calming effect of the sedatives they gave him began to disappear and the fear became stronger again. So far, he did not understand why this was necessary, why they wanted him to open the gate, why they wanted to get there.

What did they want at all? The boy didn't know until now and he wasn’t sure still, but now it became clear to him that he was just a tool here. The tool to do the worst thing. The gate was open and something was loose, he wasn't sure what was that, but he was afraid of it. Because that thing saw him, felt him, maybe he was a part of it too, it knew where he was and maybe it was looking for him even before the gate opened. According to his father, his ability was a gift, but the boy now felt like that it was a curse - he had never met anyone else who could move objects with mere thoughts as he did.

He never thought about what life could be beyond the walls, nor did he really think there was anything else outside these walls. But thet place was there too, so something else had to exist too and he knew his only chance was to hide in that unknown place. He didn't want to do this, he didn't want to be a tool, he didn't believe he would do anything good with this. For the first time in his life, he thought he wanted to go out of here, he wanted to get rid all of this and wanted to be free - even if he wasn't fully aware of what it meant to be free.

"He's not even my father ..." he thought as he stared at the metal door. Honestly, he never knew anything, did not know who his parents were, did not know how he got here, he knew nothing about himself.

The door suddenly opened and he knew it was his only chance to escape, and he was grateful that neither his father nor Dr. Bang had entered the door. It was another doctor, someone whose name didn't matter right now. The boy didn't want to hurt him, but he had no choice to get out of here.

„How are you?” The doctor holding the next dose of a sedative syringe in his hand.

"I'm not feeling good." the boy replied, but he didn't wait for him to react. He lifted both his hands and pushed them forward in the air: the man fell into the hallway and didn’t move after that.

The boy hoped that he had only lost consciousness since he couldn’t see blood on the ground. He hastily left his former home, but at that moment the sirens turned on around the building. For a moment he thought he was there again, at the gate and squeezed his hands on his ears in fright, but he knew he had to go on and couldn't stay here.

Anyone who tried to stop him could taste his powers in first hand. He didn’t have a choice than to use his abality on the doctors who tried to stop him to escape.

They tried to speak russian and korean to him, but he didn't care about what they wanted to say, he just had to get out of here. He had to get as far as possible from the gate, the storm behind the gate, the fear. He didn't want to be afraid, but he could still hear it’s voice, saw it as it look at him, and didn't even know what it was. But it saw him because he was too close, because he was the one who opened the way for it to here. He hated himself, hated everything that had been kind to him once, and force his way to the outside world. He could hear his father's voice as he punched a hole in one of the walls of the lab with his special ability.

"Стоп, Саша!" He cried as he looked at his father for a moment before he turned away and started running.

His tears are still falling, but it didn't matter, he got out and although the lab surrounded by fence, he didn't worry about it either. Outside it was dark, in the distance he saw the lights of the nearby city over the trees. They continued to shout after him and follow him, and the tracking device wishtled frantically on his wirst. He had to stop to get rid of it, he screamed in pain after he managed to tear off the metal bracelet from his wrist with his telekinetic ability. Blood covered his entire arm, but he got rid of the device after all and left it behind.

His soles began to hurt, because he didn’t wear any shoes, but the calls of his name became more and more distant, meaning he made it far enough slowly. He was cold, wearing just a simple white shirt and shorts. Everything was different here, this was a new world, and although in the darkness he didn't see much of it, he thought that even the air had a different smell. He felt a little bit free now and the fear began to leave his mind slowly, he was finally farther from the gate than ever before.

****

When their mother came home she said that everything is fine, but Chan didn't believe her. If everything were fine, his father would have come home normally after work. But he was nowhere near midnight and Chan saw his mother and Felix worry. He decided he'd go to the lab, they probably wouldn't let him in, but maybe his father could come out to reassure him that there was nothing wrong, it's just another overtime.

His mother didn't want to let him go at first, but as neither Changbin nor Jisung went home and decided to go with their older friend, she agreed to let the boy leave. Of course, Felix wanted to go with them too, but their mother sent him to sleep, Jisung gave the younger the whole bag of his candy he bought before.

"I can't believe this, what the hell is going on there?" Chan nervously asked in the car as they headed towards the lab. "I say the whole place stinks, yet ..."

"Chan, relax, maybe it's just overtime as usual." Changbin said calmly next to him. "Maybe this Russian delegation wanted to stay a little longer or I don’t know."

"Maybe, but nowadays he’s always working overtime and we could never talk about what they are doing in the lab. It’s almost funny that I don't even know what my dad doing at work! ”

"Chan, stop the car!" Jisung screamed suddenly from the back seat, but Chan stopped too late and hit someone or something.

"Did I hit someone?" Chan asked horrifiedly.

"There was somebody on the road…" Jisung said in horror.

Chan quickly got out of the car and find out that Jisung was right, someone was lying on the road next to the car. He didn't go so fast and the collision wasn't particularly big, but of course it was still an accident, so he had to make sure that the person he hit was still alive. He needed to know if he had to call an ambulance or anything, and this was not a situation of panic.

"Hey?" He asked carefully and touched the boy on the ground who groaning softly. "He's alive!" He added to Jisung and Changbin, who in the meantime also got out of the car.

"Are you sure?" Changbin asked.

"Oh…" Chan walked around the boy lying on the ground and helped him up carefully. He noticed that the boy's arm was bloody and had a small scratch on his forehead. "I'm Bang Chan, I was ... I hit you, do you hear what I'm saying?" He asked in an anxious voice.

The boy was very beautiful with long eyelashes and big deer-like eyes. His skin gleamed dimly in the light of the car's lamp, but the strangest thing was that he wore only one shirt and shorts, and he had no shoes on. He looked like he had escaped from somewhere and Chan was sure he had never seen him in town.

"Do you hear what I'm saying?" Chan repeated his question. The boy nodded slowly.

"I have to get out of here." He moaned heavily, his voice was slightly hoarse.

"We'll take you to a hospital, the doctors will take care of you."

"NO!" The boy exclaimed in fright. "No need for doctors, just get ... away from here ..."

"Okay, okay, you don't need a doctor, I understand!" Chan said quickly, looking at his friends for a moment. "Changbin, help me get him in the car!"

"And where do you want to take him?" Jisung asked as Changbin helped their older friend to raise the frightened boy off the ground.

"Home." Chan replied, he had no better idea, but he had to take care of the boy's injuries. After being seated to the back seat, it was clear that they wouldn't be able to go to the lab.

"What will your mom say about this?" Changbin asked. "We also don't know who he is, do you think it's really a good idea to take him to where you live?"

"Well ... I can't take him anywhere else," Chan replied. "But Mom can't find out, she sure would kill me."

"We should take him to the hospital, did you see his hand?" Jisung asked nervously. "He may have multiple injuries ..."

"He don't want to go to the hospital, haven't you heard his response to the word „doctor”?" Chan asked, looking at the boy, his eyes closed in the backseat, evenly breathing there, maybe he fell asleep.

"Maybe he’s a psychopath ..."

"Okay, how are you going to get him into the house?" Changbin asked before Jisung could have presented a conspiracy theory about the boy.

"My mom can't see him, so through the window." Chan replied.

"Do you mean that little window that even Jisung has had a hard time using it as a way in to the cellar?" Asked Changbin. "Don't be angry, but I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why, you have a better idea?" Chan asked nervously. "We don't know who this guy is, I hit him, he doesn't want to see a doctor, but I don’t think it is a coincidence we met him… he came from the direction of the lab."

"How did you know that?" Jisung asked, and Chan pointed behind him.

"He came from that direction, didn't he?" The older boy asked, and as his friends turned around they could see the top of the lab hiding behind the trees.

"Chan, what if he has nothing to do with the lab?" Jisung asked as he turned to his friend.

"I think we'll only find this out when he wakes up." Chan replied and handed the car key to Changbin. "You're driving, I'm sitting next to him."

"And how do you plan to do all of this without being caught?" Changbin asked as his friend bypassed the car to sit in the back seat.

"Let's figure it out there, once we get back." Chan shrugged.

There was no word between the three friends on the way back to the Bang House. Chan quietly studied the face of the stranger who seemed to have fallen asleep in the back seat. He could see now what Jisung had pointed out earlier that one of his arms were covered with blood. His legs were injured too, probably because he didn't wear shoes. Chan wondered where this strange boy came from, and what could have happened to him, he was trembling in his sleep badly which made the other boy uneasy.


	2. The weirdo

Getting the unknown boy into the house was harder than Chan had guessed. Of course, the only window to the basement was quite close to the ground from outside and it was narrow, because of his broad shoulders Chan would never fit through it. Felix might have succeeded, but of course he couldn't be awakened, let alone it seemed better not to involve his brother in this thing too.

"Jisung, stay with him, we'll go in and help you from the basement," Chan said as Jisung moved the consciousness boy's arm over his shoulder.

"Chan, this is a really bad idea," Jisung said. "Look, we don't even know who is this ..."

"If he get up we'll find out, trust me a little, please!"

"I trust you, but this is a stranger who's been hurt ... and not just because you ran off him a little bit!"

"Okay, I'm sure everything has an explanation, he just needs to wake up!"

"Alright," Changbin nodded. "Let's go in before your mother becomes suspicious," he added, so the two boys left Jisung and the unknown boy in the dark.

However Chan didn't expect his father to come home at that very moment. The car turned lazily into the driveway and stopped beside Chan's car. His father looked nervous when he got out and looked at his son and Changbin in surprise.

"What are you doing out here so late?" He asked.

“We just wanted to go to the lab to check if everything’s okay with you. You know, there was an earthquake earlier, ”Chan replied, and I sincerely hoped that his father would not see Jisung standing in the corner of the house with the boy. "But I had to take Jisung home because it was too late and we turned back after that."

“Nothing happened in the lab, so you really shouldn't have gone there. Let's go in, will Changbin stay for the night? ”His father asked as he walked towards the front door.

"Yes, we still have some work to do in the cellar," Chan said quickly.

"Alright, but don't stay up for long," his father said, then they parted in the hall. Fortunately, Chan's mother was still waiting for them, so she at least distracted her father while the two boys went down to the cellar.

Chan locked the cellar door for the first time in a long time, while Changbin was about to open the window. The unknown boy was still unconscious or asleep, it was difficult to decide, but Chan was sure that he had lost a lot of blood and perhaps that’s why he still hadn't woke up. They were slowly trying to get the boy into the basement, not wanting to him to get another injury while they were doing so. And when his body was carefully put into Changbin’s and Chan’s arms, they carefully laid him down on the only sofa in the basement. Meanwhile, Jisung climbed into the cellar too and pulled the small window close behind him.

For a minute the three of them only watched the sleeping boy, then they exchanged puzzled glances. They brought him into the house, but they didn't think farther what they would do then.

"We should take care of his injuries," Jisung said.

"There's a first aid box somewhere here," Chan said, stepping over the boxes lining the wall. After a few minutes of searching, he found what he was looking for and stepped back to the couch. "I've never done such a thing ..." he looked at his friends puzzled.

"Okay, I'll do it!" Changbin said and took the box from the older. "Bring me some water in a pot, please" he added, so Chan went back to go upstairs. He heard his parents talking in the living room, but he didn't care, he quickly searched for a pot and filled it with water, luckily his parents didn't stop him, if he could hear it right their topic was the lab, maybe they even quarreling, it didn't really matter now to Chan.

Minutes later, Chan and Jisung watched as Changbin carefully began to wash the blood from the unknown boy's arm, then searched for a wound disinfectant in the box and gauze. Until now, Chan didn’t know that his friend was so skilled in wound care.

"Look!" Changbin said suddenly and carefully raised the boy’s unharmed hand. "What does this tattoo mean?"

Chan and Jisung stepped closer to look at the boy's wrist.

“LM?” Jisung asked. “What does this mean? And that number? ” The younger stared at Chan involuntarily, somehow always waiting for him to answer his questions.

"251098." Chan read the numbers. "Interesting ... it seems to me like a date. 25.10.1998. – it could be like that. "

"Date of birth?" Changbin asked uncertainly, then he reached for the rag in the water pot again to clean the bruise on the boy's forehead.

"Maybe yes," Chan replied, looking at the boy's face. "Will he speak when he wakes up?" He asked softly.

"I really hope I'm wondering what he's going to say," Changbin replied, carefully starting to disinfect the wound on the boy's forehead, who began to whimper. His eyelashes shook and he opened his eyes suddenly. Changbin pulled his hand away from him as the boy suddenly sat up on the couch and looked at the three of them in horror for a few minutes.

"Please don't yell," Chan said quickly and moved closer. "Please, no one can hear that you are here!" He almost begged, but he had the feeling that the boy would not understand what he was saying.

"Where am I?" He finally asked and looked around in the dimly lit cellar.

"In Yellow Wood." Jisung said after a minute of silence. "You know, around the lab, my friend Chan accidentally run off you with his car, but it seemed like..."

"Lab?" Chan saw a look of terror on the boy's face. "How far is the lab from here?"

"Far enough, it's on the outskirts of the town actually, so ..." Chan began, and the boy sighed, as if relieved. "What's your name?" Chan finally asked, and the boy looked back at him, and again Chan feels as if he didn't understand the question he was asking him.

"I'm Seo Changbin." Changbin finally introduced himself. "I disinfected and bandaged the wound on your wrist, I think you've lost some blood, but now it won't be a problem ... I hope ... your forehead still needs to be taken care of."

The boy did not react, simply pulling his knees close to himself, hugging them and lowering his eyes. Chan saw that he was trembling, but had no idea what the boy was afraid of.

"I'm Han Jisung," Jisung introduced himself too since the boy didn’t talk and smiled kindly at him, trying to relieve the tension, but he even avoided his gaze.

"I am Bang Chan, I've introduced myself before, but you certainly don't remember.” Chan said kindly and carefully sat down beside the boy, who was hesitantly crawled closer to the armrest. "We don't want to hurt you, please!"

"I don’t... I don't really have a name," the boy moaned stammered. "My dad ... my dad called me Sasha, but ... but he is not my father and that is not my name."

"I think I don't understand ..." Chan said carefully after he and Changbin exchanged a look.

"I don't really understand either," the boy finally said. "But something terrible has happened and it's all my fault." Chan noticed the tears in his eyes.

"If you tell us, we might be able to help," the boy said, but the other just shook his head.

"You can't, because ... it's my fault," the boy replied confused. "I think they'll look everywhere, maybe here too... I can't stay ..."

"Wait, who are you talking about?" Chan asked. "Please, if you don't tell us what are you talking about, we can't help you!" He added, and the boy looked into his eyes again. For a few minutes no one said anything, the tension in the air could be cut, the boy looked at the three friends in embarrassment, then lowered his eyes.

"What I did is… terrible," he whispered softly, wiping his tears. “I didn't want to, I really didn't know what they wanted, why it was so important to know what was there. I didn't want them to be disappointed, so I did what they asked for, I really ... I really opened the gate, but now I know I shouldn't have because something was loose and ... "

"What gate?" Changbin asked, the other boy staring back at him, then at Chan and Jisung.

"You don't know?" He asked softly.

"What should we know?" Jisung asked back.

The boy said something, but in another language and pulled on his own hair. Chan saw the fear in his eyes, or rather it was like panic, it was hard to tell. Honestly, he had never met someone like this boy before.

"There is a gate to another world," the boy said in Korean again. Chan looked back at him dumbfounded.

"What? Is this a bad joke now? ”Changbin asked and put down the bloody rag he had been holding until now. "What the hell…"

"No, please! If you didn't know about it, then no one else knew… ”the boy said almost to himself. "Then that's all ..."

"Are you in the lab before?" Chan asked, the boy nodded carefully.

"It was my home," he whispered, and Chan and Changbin exchanged a look again.

"Okay, this story is messier than I thought ..." Jisung said quietly.

"On your wirst ... what does that mean?" Changbin asked, pointing at the boy's untide wirst, who looked at the tattoo on it and then shook his head slowly.

"I have no idea," he replied in a desperate voice.

Chan knew the boy was not in a state of mind now that they could talk to him anymore. This whole story of some gate and the horror that this boy allegedly released was not at all clear to him. But as he had guessed, he was right: something was wrong around the lab and this boy was a good proof of that.

****

The next morning started hard, Jisung and Changbin left at dawn, and Chan stayed in the cellar next to the unknown boy. They woke up almost at the same time in the morning and Chan promised him that he would be okay, just stay quiet. The boy was still shaking sometimes, and Chan was sure he was terribly afraid, but it was just hard to figure out from what exactly: the unknown people who were following him or what he was supposed to let out from the lab.

"Are you that hungry?" Her mother asked as Chan tried to put as many dishes on his plate as he could.

“Yes, you know, I am a developing organism. Where is Dad? ”The boy asked as he tossed vegetables on the edge of the plate.

"He already had to go to the lab… are you sure you're okay?" His mother asked in a worried voice. "When did Changbin leave?"

“At dawn, we worked hard, but we're not ready yet. Actually, I have to go back to the cellar, so I'll ... I'll see you! "

"Chan, you should have your breakfast at the table!"

"I know, Mom, but I have no time for it!" The boy shouted from the top of the stairs, then closed the door to the cellar and turned the key in the lock.

The boy watched him with big eyes as he came down the stairs and put the plate on the table in front of him.

"Breakfast, eat," he said, but the boy didn't move, just watched him. "Aren’t you hungry?" Chan finally asked.

"I am," the boy nodded, then carefully took a toast from the plate and bit it.

"I thought about that number on your wrist ... maybe it’s your date of birth," Chan explained, then got up to bring his laptop from the desk and sat down next to the boy on the couch again. "Maybe based on that I can find you somewhere on the net."

"On the net?" The boy asked.

"Internet… you never used it before?" Chan asked and turned his laptop over so he could see exactly what he was looking at.

"No," he shook his head.

"Perhaps it would be the best if I try to looking up for the lab," Chan said to himself, and typed "Yellow Wood Laboratory" into the search box.

As he guessed on the first pages, there were only articles about the construction of the lab and how important it was for the government to make employees feel good inside the walls. There were also a few articles about how harmonious and family-friendly Yellow Wood is. Chan agreed, after all, many families really had a good time here, the city was quite small, and there were small and quiet little houses down the streets. About three-quarters of the city lived here because of the lab, and the others maintained various shops on the small pedestrian street. Yellow Wood was like a busy little community that Chan didn't want to be a part of now that he graduated from the local high school.

"Hey, this is interesting ..." Chan muttered and opened an article that led to a dark site. "Human experiments ... God ..."

"What is human experiments means?" The boy asked curiously, and as Chan looked at him, he realized that unfortunately the boy hadn't really lied. Until now, he seemed to have no idea of basic things, but now he was beginning to understand why not.

"Did you say your father called you Sasha?" Chan asked and the boy nodded. "You don't look Russian, but you're not even half-blooded," he added. He had always known the laboratory had some Russian investors, but somehow he had never thought about it why.

"I don't understand what you're talking about," the boy replied, looking frankly confused and finally putting the half-eaten toast back on the plate. "Everything here is quite different from what was inside the lab."

"Have you ever been outside the lab?" Chan asked, the boy shook his head. "Can I see your wrist again?" He asked finally, and the boy was ready to extend his arm.

The "LM" and "251098" labels were still there, Chan knew that even if the numbers really covered a year and a day of birth, he couldn't even figure out who this boy was. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people may have a birthday on the same day, but then he remembered something that might be a possible clue. He let go of the boy's arm and turned back to the laptop, not knowing what site he was on, but he decided to check out more articles to see if he could find something. For the time being, he seemed to be on a blind track, even typing the date of birth into the search box, but was unsuccessful. He decided to try with a date and a possible city name, he tried Seoul, and then he did a try with Moscow, but for the time being he couldn't get any new information.

Jisung and Changbin arrived shortly after this, his mother knocking loudly on the basement door, which made the unknown boy so scared and he did something that Chan was not prepared for.

"Chan? Everything okay? ”Asked his mother outside, Chan was terribly happy that he locked the door. The unknown boy's hands were in the air and he was trembling, the older slowly looking at him and putting his finger to his mouth, signaling him to remain silent.

"Yes, Mom, I just acidentally kicked the desk!" Chan called back, but he still couldn't get the picture out of his head as the table moved - apparently by itself, but Chan was sure that it was because of the boy.

"Jisung and Changbin are here!" His mother said.

"One minute and I'm going!" He heard his mother walk away from the door and then he turned back to the boy. "How did you do that?" He whispered.

"This… this is something that was born with me, I can move objects with my thoughts ... so I could open the gate," the boy confessed and lowered his eyes.

"What the fuck ..." Chan whispered then get up form the couch, remembering that Changbin and Jisung were upstairs waiting for him.

****

Chan was grateful that everyone left the house that day. Felix went to Seungmin early in the morning, and her mother went to work, leaving only him, his two best friends, and the boy at home. Thanks to this the boy was taken upstairs so he could use the bathroom. While the boy showered comfy, Chan looked for a clean t-shirt and sweatpants for him, as well as underpants and socks.

But then they retreated to the cellar for safety, but Chan made sure to take a few bottles of water and snacks with them. Of course, he was aware that this couldn’t go on like this for a long time, and his parents would probably find out that he was hiding the boy in the cellar.

However, while the boy was in the bath, Chan told his two best friends about the latest development, which happened to be that this boy wasn't really like them. It was strange to say it, but Chan saw with his own eyes the ability he had.

"Can you really move objects with your thoughts?" Jisung asked as Chan and Changbin searched on the internet wildly. The boy just watched the events again, leaning on a corner of the couch.

"Yes." Chan heard him answer.

"Look at this," Changbin said enthusiastically, it seemed like he was able to use various search engines on the Internet better than Chan, with hundreds of pages coming in front of their eyes soon. They were all about human experiments and other unexplained phenomena nationwide.

"Changbin, you know he has nowhere to go? If everything is true of what he said, then… maybe he has been separated from his family at a very young age, ”Chan whispered. "What the hell are we gonna do like this?"

"Well, I guess we'll find out what's going on in the lab," replied the younger. "I think you were actually right about it that something's stinking there."

"You see now…"

“But it's rougher than I thought. Why did they want to open that gate? And what is that over there anyway? Could it be a completely different dimension? ”The boy thought aloud.

"Rather, the question is what did they get free out of it," Chan answered nervously. “Because whatever it is, he’s scared of it and I'm afraid that that something is out here on the streets now. And if that's true, then all of Yellow Wood is in danger and my dad has something to do with it, ”he added bitterly.

"Look at this," Changbin suddenly said excitedly. Chan once again lost track of what web page they were on, but there was a photo of the boy there, perhaps a few years earlier, but he had recognizable features. Below the picture was the date on his wrist, beside his birthplace: Moscow, Russia.

"How did you find this?" Chan asked in shock.

"I have no idea I really typed everything into the search engine ..." Changbin explained as his older friend ran through the article below the photo.

Artificial insemination and other strange expressions lined up behind each other, seemingly the boy was a result of experiments. In fact, his mother sold him, and indeed he has a very rich Russian man as his foster father, a certain Luka Mironov, who was himself well-versed in science.

"Lee Minho," Changbin said as they reached the end of the article. "His Korean name is Lee Minho and his father named him Sasha Mironov," he added, looking at Chan.

"That's incredible," Chan moaned as he looked at the boy. "So LM is for Lee Minho."

"Did you find his name?" Jisung asked.

Changbin nodded, and the boy looked at them curiously.

"What is it?" The boy asked.

"Minho," Chan said. "Lee Minho," he added.

"LM," he said thoughtfully, looking at his wrist. "It was here in front of me all along, but I couldn't ..."

"Of course, because your father renamed you to Sasha Mironov," Changbin said. "Don't you remember when you came back to Korea? More specifically to the lab? ”The boy shook his head, it was clear that he didn’t know anything about most of his life. The first thing he remembered from his childhood was when he lifted a bookcase full of books by his own will for the first time.

"What more can you say about that gate and the other side?" Chan asked and got up to sit on the couch next to Minho.

"It's a terrible place," the boy said softly. "There's something really bad there," he added. “And it saw me when I opened the gate. Maybe it can still see me. ”

The three friends looked at each other, apparently none of them knew what Minho was talking about. Chan might have said the day before yesterday that it all made no sense, but then they found Minho close to the lab and this morning he saw him move the table with his thoughts alone. These strange articles on the Internet explained almost everything, and it was no coincidence that Minho was here just now. His father, that Russian man, obviously wanted something from that other side - but who knows what? Or was it only curiosity why they wanted to know what is on the other side. Minho opened the gate for them and now he's terrified, probably this is why he decided to run away from the lab last night.

"But what is it?" Changbin asked. "What did you see there?"

"A storm," he replied. "With yellow eyes."

****

Chan thought a lot about what Minho said, it was hard to digest it. Of course, somewhere deep inside, he had suspected something was wrong with the lab. The secrets of his father’s job was annoying, but he wouldn't have thought for a minute that they were dealing with the supernatural. In truth, he thought that such things could only happen in movies and science fiction novels, that the kind of monsters Minho had seen did not exist. He shivered as he looked out the window of his room, and even from here he could see the gray building of the lonely laboratory standing in the distance.

He thought of his father, hoping that he wouldn't get in trouble after Minho escaped from the lab. He wondered where they look for the boy now. Do they think he can hide here? Chan hoped he could hide Minho for so long that no one would think he might be in this house. But how long can he hide a boy with a special ability?

He remembered Luka Mironov, did he really look at Minho as a child? It was hard for him to believe, it looked more like that he looked at Minho as he was only a device for them. And the device finally accomplished what they wanted, because that gate really opened. Minho called the place where he opened the gate the other side, but apparently he didn't know much about it either.

"Chan, what the hell are we going to do now?" Jisung asked suddenly. Changbin stayed in the cellar next to Minho, while Chan and their younger friend tried to pack some useful things for the boy. It was clear that Minho's knowledge of the world outside the lab was rather deficient, but it was also obvious that the cellar would not entertain him for long. Chan packed his old comics, a sweater and other clothes he no longer wore for him.

"I think I need to go to the lab somehow to get more informataion," Chan replied. "I need more than this, Minho is still a mystery, even though we have found out his name."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Chan… who really knows what's in the lab?"

"Whatever it is, my father is in it," Chan said bitterly. He loved his father, but he felt that he couldn’t look at him the same way as before. Because their whole life were based on a lie, his father tried to hide government stuff in the lab while letting Minho play with his life. Of course, he couldn't be sure, but after what Minho told them it seemed like he made a lot of sacrifice to open that particular gate.

"Chan, I don't know exactly what you're feeling, but your dad is a good man," Jisung said, and these words now meant a lot to the older. He wanted to believe that Jisung was right that his father was not really a terrible person who had made Minho do this thing. "Seriously, I've met few people like him and it's clear how much he loves you and your brother. Whatever he did, he certainly did it to protect you. ”

"Do you think he could hurt Minho? He and his colleagues? ”Chan asked uncertainly.

"I don't know," said Jisung frankly. "But if you really want to go to the lab, I'll go with you. You can't go by yourself. ”

Chan was grateful to have friends like Jisung and Changbin. Hiding a boy in the basement was difficult, especially if he was someone like Minho, but he had no choice but to do so. The boy was still terrified and that monster - the storm with the yellow eyes - maybe was out here, maybe it was looking for the boy, but Chan hoped it couldn't find him here.


	3. Missing Children

Chan was aware that his mother was worried about him since he had spent more time in the cellar lately. The main reason for this was that he was reluctant to leave Minho alone, of course his mother had no idea. Apparently Minho was gradually getting calmer with his company, but stil he shivered many times, he might not have noticed it himself. The boy didn't talk about the lab or his father, Chan thought he might have missed the place, which was understandable since it was his home. He knew nothing but those walls, he had spent his entire life there. At the same time, the boy was clearly dreading the gate and what was behind it, or more likely he was afraid of the thing that had escaped after he opened the gate to it into this world.

"Why did you decide to run away?" Chan asked one night when they were alone in the basement and he changed the bandage on Minho's injured wrist. The bruise on his forehead was hardly visible now, but Chan cleaned it up too from time to time, after Changbin showed him how to do it exactly. At first, Minho didn't want to let them to deal with his injuries again, but Chan did his best to reassure him that no one would hurt him here. The older felt that Minho probably trusted him best - probably because he had spent most of his time in the cellar with him.

"When I was there ... at the other side and that thing is looking at me ... it was like ..." Minho began quietly, but apparently couldn't explain what he meant to say. Chan did not blame him, it was clear from the first moment that his vocabulary was underdeveloped and his knowledge of life was at a basic level. "I still don't understand everything, but I think in the lab ... we didn't do good things. I don't know who my real parents are ... when I realized what I was doing I didn't want to stay there... Close to the gate. Everything's diffrent there, not like here… I know it sounds weird… ”

"It doesn't sound weird," Chan assured him. "I think I understand what you mean," he added.

"I think ... if I had stayed, something worse could have happened." The boy lowered his eyes, his voice trembling, he's frightened, and perhaps it was better to him not being alone right now. "I didn't want to… I had to leave."

"You think this thing ... you saw, it knows you're here now?"

"I don't know, here's everything different."

"Minho, I have to admit something," Chan said earnestly and the boy looked back at him with big eyes. “My dad works in the lab, I'm worried that maybe something could happen to him. Whatever is released, I suppose it could still be around the lab, and it would help a lot if you could tell me what it was and how you could stop it. ”

“There aren’t people there at the other side, but something else, something terrible and inexplicable. Something I shouldn't have let in this world, but my dad ... he was curious about what was going on there, and I just had to do what they were told me to do, "Minho explained in a trembling voice. “But no one saw and felt what I did. This thing was there, it saw me, it was inside me, it was a part of me and it knew everything about me, even what I had not even knew about myself before. It was terribly painful to open the gate… and the storm… I think I was the key to it to enter into this world.”

"Then nobody's safe, that's what you want to say, right?" Chan asked and the boy slowly nodded. That's exactly what Chan was afraid of.

****

"It's terrible," Chan's mother whispered at the table the next morning. Chan ate his breakfast quickly, reluctant to leave Minho alone in the cellar for a long time as always. Felix had already been strangely looked at him every time he announced that he would be down there all day.

"What?" Chan asked, but he wasn't really interested in the answer. But his mother pushed the newest copy of the Yellow Wood Gazette in front of him. Of course, their father had left home hours ago, and Chan felt they hadn't met in days.

"A child disappeared last night, Felix he was the same age as you," she said.

"Yes?" Felix asked as his brother read the article quickly.

"They say he wasn't the first one, a girl disappeared two days ago," their mother continued. Unfortunately, Chan saw a connection: two children had disappeared since he had hidden Minho in the basement.

"Maybe just a night out ..." Chan explained uncertainly.

"That can’t be, Yellow Wood is not like a big city," their mother replied. "Felix, you'd better not go out so often from now on."

"Come on, Mom, are you serious now?" The younger asked nervously. "It's summer break, I don't want to sit all day inside the house, and today we would have gone to the pool with my friends!"

"You can't go," their mother replied sternly. "I'm sorry, your friends' parents certainly wouldn't appreciate if something similar happening to their child."

"And then what do I do? Should I sit down with Chan in the cellar? ”Felix asked irritably.

“No way, you can’t come down there. Anyway, Changbin and Jisung are sleeping here today and I was planning to be in the basement with them. ”Chan replied.

"You know what, I wouldn't want to be there!" Felix retorted nervously, then got up from the table and ran upstairs to his room.

"Am I too strict?" Their mother asked uncertainly and looked at Chan. “I just don't want him to get in trouble. When two children are missing... that is not normal, do you understand, Chan? ”She asked and gently stroked her older son's head.

"Sure, Mom, and Felix will understand too, he's just sulking a little bit," Chan replied.

“Look after him, okay? I know you're working with the boys very hard right now, but don't leave your brother alone all day! "

"I won't," Chan promised as his mother got up from the table and placed the used plates in the sink.

“All right, now I have to go to work, I will work overtime today. Your dad doesn't know when he'll come home, but I'll leave you money, order pizza for dinner or whatever you want, ” she said, grabbing her bag that she left on the kitchen counter, then pulled out her wallet and put some banknotes in front of Chan. "If you want anything you can call, okay?"

"Okay," Chan nodded and watched her mother leave the house. After she disappeared at the end of the street, Chan looked around the house quickly and Felix didn't come back from upstairs, so the air was clear. He quickly packed his plate and served a small breakfast to Minho, who thanked him gratefully.

An hour later, Changbin and Jisung arrived. Their younger friend’s task this time was to distract Felix while Minho tidied up in the downstairs bathroom. Of course, Jisung was embarrassed to spend so much time with Felix. Although Chan didn't understand why his friend liking his brother, but he didn't really care about it either, the most important thing at the moment was that Minho would not be seen by the younger.

"Felix can't go anywhere, so we have to be careful today," Chan said as the four of them were down in the basement again. Chan felt the scent of his own shower gel on Minho and as he looked at him for the first time he realised that this strange boy was in his clothes and has his scent on himself. He didn't even notice that he was blushing as his eyes lingered on Minho's face, on his long lashes and on his wet hair. Minho was an exceptionally pretty boy, differently than Felix’s friend Hwang Hyunjin who was famous around the city because of his pretty face. Minho was really different compared to Hyunjin, or at least according to Chan, he couldn't help thinking that he had never seen such a handsome boy in his life as Minho was.

"Well, he isn’t in a good mood," Jisung said.

"I don't care what mood he is in, for one day he could stay at home."

"Why do you act like this? Did you know they wanted to go to the pool? I didn't even know there was a pool in the city because we're always here! "

"Well, did you flirt with him?" Changbin asked boredly, carefully removing the gauze from Minho's injured hand. The wounds had already healed, but Changbin still carefully washed them and put fresh bandage around the boy’s wirst.

"What's flirting means?" Minho asked quietly and looked at Chan, all three of them could see that the boy was really curious. Of course, explaining what flirting turned out to be harder than they thought.

"Well, you know when you like someone and you try to get closer," Jisung said, Chan saw on his face that he was having trouble getting his thoughts together. Of course, it's always the hardest thing to explain what everyone should understand and know, but Chan suspected they would have many more conversations like this with the boy who escaped from the lab in the future. "You ask people things like... what's up?"

"You ask such a thing from my brother?" Chan asked, because if that was the case, Jisung was on the wrong track and he didn't even realize it.

"Of course not, Felix is different," Jisung said, he was embrassed.

"Believe me, Minho, you haven't lost much that you don't know what flirting is," Changbin said bluntly. "By the way, we have more important things to do," he added, then put the first-aid box aside.

"Yes, that's right," Chan nodded. "So the lab ... we have to go there."

"What?" Minho asked in shock. "Do you remember anything I told you? Dangerous, very dangerous to go there! ”

"I'm aware of it, but kids have disappeared in town and I have a feeling this has to do with the monster you let free!" Chan said nervously, and this seemed to hurt Minho.

"I didn't want to let it free ..." the boy muttered and if possible he tightened his arms more around himself on the couch. "They told me everything was going to be okay and I believed it, I couldn't do anything else, I had to believe what they believed in!"

"I'm sorry, you're right, it's not your fault," the elder replied, frustrated. "I just… if that gate could be opened, it could be closed too, right?" He asked, and Minho nodded slowly but looked uncertain. “I don't want more kids or anyone else to disappear. I don't want that thing crawling out here because it isn’t belong in this world. You don't want it here too, right? ”He asked and Minho nodded again.

"Then we need a plan," Changbin said grimly. "We can't just go there if I'm guessing right because no one could approach the lab area easily and without being noticed."

"I could," Minho replied in a firmer tone and blinked a lot as he looked up at the three friends. "I could get out, I'll be able to go back there too," he added.

"Then are we all going?" Asked Jisung, Changbin nodded.

"No, it's risky," Chan said nervously. "Only me and Minho go to the lab."

"Do you think we would let only the two of you go there?" Changbin asked. "How long have we been friends, Chan?"

"We can't risk it," Chan replied, not knowing what to do if anything happened to his two friends. Still, it was risky to go back there, maybe Minho was the biggest risk, but he knew the lab better than all of them and he was the only one who could close the gate.

"Hyung!" Felix's voice suddenly struck their ears, Minho winced and looked at the others in horror.

"Nothing’s wrong," Chan said softly, and he didn't realize he was reflexively grabbing Minho's hand. "What is it Felix?" The boy asked louder, but he didn't expect the basement door to open and his brother to run down the stairs. He'd dared swear they'd locked the door behind them, as always since Minho had been hiding here.

"Mom called me ..." the boy suddenly stopped when he saw Minho sitting on the couch in his brother's clothes.

"Felix ..." Jisung got up from the puff he had been sitting on and looked at the boy.

"Who's that?" Felix asked and looked at the three of them in a puzzled fashion.

"My cousin ... a very distant cousin," Jisung said quickly, apparently trying to save the situation somehow.

"I couldn't see him coming into the house with you," Felix said in a suspicious voice. "And anyway, you're pretty weird these days, you're spending more time down here than ever ..."

"Felix, just go back, now we don't have time to explain this!" Chan said nervously, then released Minho's hand and got up from the couch. "You don’t hear? Go back upstairs! "

"I'm not going anywhere," Felix replied, taking a step forward. "How long has this boy been here, hyung?"

No one spoke for long minutes, and Chan cursed himself for not paying attention to lock the door. It was Felix who he most wanted to protect from this whole thing. Even for them it was unclear what exactly was going on in the lab, but here was Minho, who had a supernatural ability and talked about monsters from another world and had no idea of real life. It all seemed like a bad joke, but Chan knew Minho wasn't lying and now he was sure no one was safe at Yellow Wood.

"For a while," Chan finally replied.

"I knew you were not making mixtapes down here ..." Felix said.

"Felix, you misunderstood," Changbin said, and finally he got up from the chair he had been sitting on. "This is Minho and I think you better sit down now!"

"Changbin!" Chan said nervously as he turned to his friend.

"Now he has seen Minho, he has the right to know about this," Changbin said, and Chan knew very well that the boy was right. No matter what he wanted to protect his brother, he simply couldn't lie to him, he couldn't risk Felix telling his parents about this. What would his father say, for example, if he found out that Minho was hiding in their cellar? Chan was sure the man must have known that Minho had escaped from the lab, probably knew who are looking for him, and who knew what was going on in the lab right now? With the gate wide open, perhaps more horrors had escaped than Minho knew.

Two hours later Felix looked at Minho's wrist, gently pulling his index finger over the tattooed monogram and his date of birth. He looked at all the websites Changbin had shown him, listened to everything Minho had to say and what his brother and friends had gathered from the confusing story of the lab, the gate, and the monster that had escaped. He saw Minho move the trash bin with his thoughts, proving that he had real telekinetic abilities.

"Have you always lived in the lab?" Felix asked after a few minutes of silence, and Chan saw the pity in his brother's eyes and the sadness. Felix has always been empathetic, he was loved so much because of this. But even he didn't expect his brother to believe this seemingly impossible story without a word.

"Yes, that was my home," Minho replied softly.

"Do you know our dad?" Felix asked now in an excited voice. "His name is Bang Youngho," he added.

"Bang? Dr. Bang? ”The boy asked and looked at Chan. The older hadn't even remembered that the boy might know exactly who their father was. However this just justified his fear that his father was involved in this whole thing from the beginning.

"Do you know him?" Felix asked excitedly.

"Yes," Minho nodded. "He was… he helped a lot," he added.

"This is incredible…"

"Felix, do you understand what this is about?" Chan asked suddenly, somehow his brother seemed too happy now. “Minho has escaped from there, there is that gate and some monster is crawling here in the streets. If you connect this whole story, it's no coincidence that those kids just disappeared. That's why we have to go to the lab and find that monster. "

"Or maybe we could talk to dad," Felix replied and looked up at his brother. "Didn't you think about that?"

"Of course I thought about it, but he is also a part of this! Minho wouldn't have opened that gate if he knew what the consequences were, do you understand? They just used him! ”

There was silence again, Felix lowering his eyes, of course understanding what his brother was aiming for. But their father was a good man, Felix knew and trusted him, maybe he was just another tool because of his knowledge.

"Dr. Bang… he was always very kind to me, ”Minho said softly after a while. "I owe him a lot," he added.

"Yeah, dad’s fine," Felix nodded and smiled at Minho. "I'm glad at least he took care of you there."

"Me too," the boy nodded quietly.

"So what's the plan now?" Felix asked. "Do you want to go to the lab?"

“Yes, the gate must be closed. Minho opened it, so we figured he would be able to close it, ”Chan replied.

"And what if he couldn’t?" Felix asked, the three friends looking at each other puzzled.

"We didn't really think about that," Jisung said, looking back at the boy.

"Minho, you said that a monster escaped after you opened the gate. Then that monster is still out here, right? ”Felix asked and the boy nodded as he looked back at him. Chan soon realized that a lot of things had not been fully thought through about their plan. "Maybe it doesn't make sense to close the gate as long as this monster is out here.” he added.

"That seems oddly logical" Changbin said, looking at Chan. "If that thing stays out here, more people could disappear, or am I wrong?"

"I don't know why those kids disappeared, just… I just felt it had to do with this."

"Maybe I can find it," Minho said uncertainly and blinked as he looked at Chan. "There's this ... so when I opened the gate, I wasn't physically there, just a part of me was there."

"I think I understand what you mean," Chan said thoughtfully. "One of my comics have something like that in it ... astral projection or something like that? When you don't have to be physically there, but you still see and feel everything in a certain place, ”the older explained, Minho was still uncertain, but nodded.

"If you're not sure, then ..." Jisung began, but the boy shook his head.

"Felix is right, we need to find the monster first," Minho said, and now he seemed more determined. Chan thought he was scared, but more determined. "But if I look for it, it'll find out where I am ..."

"Then we need to be better prepared," Changbin said. "What could kill this thing?" He asked, but they looked at each other puzzled. Minho wasn't sure, he didn't know much about this creature that escaped, but in one thing he was sure it was dangerous to humans.

"I have no idea," Minho replied frankly. "I'm sorry…"

Chan wanted to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, because he was just doing what he was asked to do. This, of course, meant that he was wrong, but Minho's role was only being the tool in the story. The opening of the gate was clearly what his father and his people wanted, maybe even the rest of the lab, maybe Chan and Felix's father too. In fact, he was just realizing how ignorant he was of his own father - since in a family you shouldn't have to lie to each other. But it seemed like that there was much more lies than truth in their family.

****

Hours later, the five boys were still down in the basement, ordered pizza and Felix and Chan's parents still hadn't come home. Meanwhile, Changbin and Chan found a map of the city in a box that was pinned to one of the empty walls of the cellar now. Felix circled the lab with red, and Chan put a big X on the spot where Minho was found.

"Have you noticed that the lab hasn't been in the news since the earthquake?" Felix asked as she sat on the floor looking at the map and the notes on the wall. They mainly contained descriptions of what Minho remembered about the other side. Changbin wrote the word "gate" in black over the lab shortly afterwards.

"We haven't had much time to watch TV lately," Jisung said. "Usually we were here, you know ... Minho was injured and ... so all the things he said were pretty hard to digest."

"Really? Not so much for me, ”Felix replied while still looking at the map. Chan found it strange that his brother was sitting here with them, Felix wasn't really come down the basement until their parents force him to. However, Chan also realized that his brother was much smarter than he remembered, and perhaps his presence was reassuring to Minho.

"Did you pay attention to what he said?"

“Jisung, my dad works in that lab and he could never talk about his job at home. You thought I didn't realize that it was weird? ”The boy asked and looked at the other. “I grew up never being able to tell exactly what my dad was doing, but I had to be proud of him being a Yellow Wood Laboratory employee. When Minho told me everything, somehow it made sense, even if it sounded strange. ”

“I see, I'm just… sorry. This would surely be difficult for you and Chan. ”

"Not really," Chan said bitterly. "I've always guessed they were hiding something, I just didn't expect something like this."

"We can still talk to dad if you change your mind” Felix said, now turning to his brother. "He's not ... I don't think he wanted this."

"What if he is?" Chan still bitterly asked. "Felix, we can't trust him, he can't find out that Minho's in the house!"

"Dr. Bang was different from the others, ”Minho said quietly, not taking his eyes off the map on the wall. "But maybe it’s better if he didn’t know that I am here ... and maybe I shouldn't stay because I'm just causing you trouble," he added and lowered his head.

"Minho, don't say that, you're safe here," Chan said. "And now we're friends, I think ..."

"Friends?" The boy asked uncertainly, Chan was sure Minho didn't really know the word.

"It's like a family," Felix helped and smiled at Minho as he looked at him. Minho was thinking of his father and the childhood they had taken away from him – well it had never been taken away really because he had never had a real childhood. A few hours ago, he found out his mother's name from Chan, she's called Lee Minkyung, but he had no idea what a woman like her who sold him to a stranger after he was born could be. Lee Minkyung was just a name, Minho had no idea what a true mother's love was. Strangely enough, he knew that his father loved him, and he hoped that not only because Minho was the key to achieving his goals.

"And a family is always side by side, under all circumstances," Jisung said, and he smiled at the boy. "You can always count on us, Minho!"

Minho nodded, then looked back at Chan and smiled uncertainly. A family was something he always wanted, something elusive and beautiful. The boy didn't feel alone now and knew that if they stood by him, he would really be able to turn things around. He would be able to make up for his mistakes, or at least hoped he would.

That night, Minho was happy to put his head to sleep despite the circumstances. Chan carefully locked the basement door before he and Changbin lay down on their sleeping bags. Felix and Jisung slept upstairs in the house so it wasn't too suspicious that they were all locked up here. That evening they had not met with Chan’s and Felix’s parents.

Chan didn't know what was happening right now at his father's workplace, and since they hadn't met, he didn't notice how much the man had changed in recent days. He was more pale and even more tired than ever before. Chan had no idea that Minho's successful escape from the lab had affected everyone's life, and that his father was the one who suffered the most because of it.


	4. The Monster

Days passed and another kid disappeared in the city. Chan's mother forbade either Chan or Felix to leave the house, which made things difficult at a certain level. Jisung's parents were reluctant to let their son go out too, but Changbin didn't care what his parents said. The lab's problem was getting bigger day by day and Chan couldn't remember the last time they saw their dad at home.

"What the hell's going on there?" Chan asked as he put food on a plate for Minho. Their mother left to work an hour ago, so there were only the two brothers left in the house.

"I don't know, dad is acting stranger than usual... I mean, if he's at home at all," Felix replied. "Do you think Minho is really ready to find the monster?"

"Maybe, I don't know, I don't want to force him but he said he is ready."

"If this ever comes to an end, what will happen to him?" Felix asked in a worried tone. "He has no one, his mother sold him…”

"He has a father somewhere," Chan shrugged. "I mean he must have a biological father, not Luka Mironov," he added.

"Do you know what's scary?" Felix asked after a few minutes of silence. “He was raised to know nothing about this world outside. The only thing floating in front of his eyes all this time is not to disappoint that many people and to open the gate. Did anyone even love him there? ”

"Luka Mironov loved him, maybe he really saw him as if he were his biological son." Chan shrugged again. “He wasn't really get hurt when he escaped. The only injury he had on his arm was because he had ripped the tracking device off. "

"He's important to them, so there's no one else in the lab who has this ability he have," Felix concluded, then took the plate out of his brother's hand. "When will Changbin arrive?"

"I don't know, he is already on his way" Chan said.

"Okay, maybe you can wait for him here?" Felix asked. "I want to spend a little time alone with Minho."

"Why?" Chan asked puzzled.

"Well ... you know, he’s wearing your clothes."

"I know I gave them to him, but I still don't understand ..."

"I thought he might want to wear something nicer," Felix shrugged. "Something he likes," he added.

"He likes my clothes!"

“Believe what you want, but don't come down to the cellar for about an hour! If you want him to find monsters, at least let him have a little fun before he do it!” Felix asked, but didn’t wait for an answer and soon disappeared in the cellar with the packed plate in his hand.

****

"Is your brother an idiot anyway? We don’t have time for this!" Changbin said nervously, Chan no longer remembered when Felix had gone down the cellar exactly. "We still have to pick up Jisung!"

"Alright, relax, I'll see what is going on," Chan said, rising from the couch to knock on the basement door. "Felix, what's up? We have to go to the warehouse! ”

Changbin offered to use his parents' tiny warehouse, which was on the outskirts of the city, and they almost never going out there. It was far from downtown and probably no other people were particularly attracted to it after dark. They all thought that if the monster found Minho there, they would still be in a better position, far from the people in the city.

"One minute!" Felix said from the inside, and shortly afterwards the basement door really opened.

Minho looked different, he staring shyly at Chan, whose mouth remained open for a minute. The yellow patterned black shirt suited Minho well, so as the black pants Felix got him who knows where. The boy’s hair glittered as well as his eyes as he smiled at Chan.

“You see, I said he would feel better in nice clothes. He smiles a lot more since he took off that ugly t-shirt, ”Felix said.

"Great, can we go now?" Changbin asked. Chan cleared his throat and walked into the hallway to grab the car key and his shoes. The others followed him and half an hour later they were on their way to pick up Jisung.

They didn't talk much in the car, but Chan sometimes looked in the rearview mirror to look at Minho, who’s seated next to Felix in the backseat. The younger boy stared out the window, it isn’t too surprising that almost everything he saw out there fascinated him. Even now, Chan found it incredible that he had never gone outside before.

****

Jisung climbed out the window of his room and thankfully his parents did not notice that he was slipping away from home. Chan stepped on the gas almost as soon as the car door closed behind him.

"Wow, Minho, you look different," Jisung said, smiling as he looked at the boy, now Minho was sitting in the middle.

"Sure, because he’s not wearing Chan’s clothes finally," Felix smiled at Jisung. "It’s so much prettier, right, Minho?" he turned back to the boy.

"Yes." Minho nodded, Chan saw in the rearview mirror that he was flushing.

"Are you aware that we want to kill a monster today?" Changbin asked rawly.

"You always ruin the mood ..." Jisung muttered, and then there were no more words between them.

Yes, they were planning to kill a monster today, and Chan honestly didn't know how it would work for them. Changbin said they would find some kind of weapons in the warehouse probably, though they didn't have many options. The weapons are probably only an axe or a hammer. But will an axe or a hammer be enough for this monster to die? It came from another world, from a completely unknown dimension.

It was dark by the time they arrived at the warehouse, and Chan and Changbin looked over the boxes lining the wall to see what useful weapons might be inside. As Chan had guessed they found an old axe, and a baseball bat seemed to be able to protect themselves at least.

"Well, if there is nothing else then these going to be good too," Chan said, looking at the baseball bat, honestly it looked brand new. "Are we ready for this?" He asked quietly so only Changbin could hear it.

"I don't know, is Minho ready for this?" Changbin asked.

"He wants to find the monster," the elder replied, if one thing was certain, Minho really wanted to stop what he was causing. It was clear that the boy had a sense of guilt, though Chan had told him repeatedly that it wasn't his fault. Of course, that monster wouldn't be here if Minho hadn't opened the gate between the two worlds, but he wasn't really aware of what might happen if he managed to open the gate. He just did it because they were told him to do so and thought it was a good act. But when the gate opened, he realized that it was not - exactly the opposite of what he had thought and therefore chose to escape from the lab.

"Yes, I know, but is he ready? Spiritually? ”Changbin asked softly. "As he told us about opening the gate I came to the conclusion that it also made him suffer a lot."

"I don't know, Changbin, but somebody has to find that monster and for now it seems like that only he can. Everyone in the city is in danger, ”Chan said grimly.

"Look!" Changbin said enthusiastically, taking an old air gun from one of the boxes. "I think this could help us," he added while he found some boy of cartridges in the box too.

Chan thought he didn't know much about life and most of the time he didn't like to mention either the lab or why his father's job and workplace were so mysterious. He didn't care because they couldn't even talk about it at home, but now he knew it was because of a huge secret behind it all. And this secret not only affected them, but the entire population of Yellow Wood. The fact that the government and Minho's father and probably Chan’s father were behind it all made it even harder.

****

Almost an hour later, Minho sat on the floor in the middle of the warehouse. He seemed determined but terrified at the same time as he sat on the floor waiting for all of them to be ready for whatever awaits for them. Even now, they were confused about how Minho would find the monster, but they had no choice but to trust him. Chan hoped that the boy knew what he was doing and that there wouldn’t be any problem. He was worried about Minho naturally, though they didn't know each other that much, but they were friends and Chan was always ready to protect his friends from all the bad things in the world.

If he could, he wouldn't have pulled Jisung and Changbin into this mess. Felix had nothing to do with this at all too, but Chan knew he couldn't leave them alone, because that monster was just as dangerous to them as to anyone else in Yellow Wood.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Chan asked as he looked at the boy on the ground. Minho nodded.

"We have to find it," Minho replied. "If something goes wrong ..."

"We'll solve it," Chan assured him, though he himself didn't trust that the five of them could defeat a monster from another world.

Minho nodded and closed his eyes, the warehouse went silent. Everyone was tense at some level, Chan looked at Felix for a moment, knowing that if anything happens to him their parents would kill Chan. He knew well, whatever was waiting for them he have to protect Felix even if it costs his own life.

The next moment Minho suddenly winced and a slight whimper left his throat, but his eyes were still closed.

"Minho, can you hear us?" Changbin asked.

"Yes," he replied a few minutes later, his voice trembling.

"If you find the monster come back immediately," Chan said, but the boy didn't react this time.

****

Something went wrong. Minho used all his strength and tried his best to focus, he wanted to find the monster, it had to be here somewhere, but still something was really wrong. There was darkness around him, and he saw only the shape of a man with his back faced to Minho. He took one step closer and looked back, but only the two of them were inside the darkness.

Slowly he stepped closer to the figure who finally turned around and looked straight into the boy's eyes, but it seemed like as if he couldn't see the boy in front of him clearly. Minho studied the man's face but he wasn't familiar to him, he had never seen a doctor like him in the lab, so he came to the conclusion that maybe he might be someone from the city. The boy couldn't understand why he was seeing this man as he searched for the monster, it just doesn’t make sense.

"Who's there?" the man asked and took a step forward. Minho backed off in fright, but when his eyes were once more back on the man’s face he stopped moving.

Minho felt his nose starting to bleed, the fear gradually overcoming him as a half-smile appeared on the man’s face. Then he suddenly grabbed the boy's arm and Minho screamed desperately, it hurt him so much.

"NO!" Minho screamed frightened, trying to pull his arm away from the man. Now he understood what had happened, this man was no longer a man. This man was what Minho had set free, the monster that had made those kids dissapear, the monster from the other side. The man he saw actually was only the skin the monster chose to wore to blend into it’s surroundings.

The next moment a deafening sound hit the boy's ear and he tried to use all his strength to pull his arm out of the monster's tight grip. But suddenly the man released his arm and Minho began to fall into the void under their feet. He could hear his own screaming, but it was almost silent with the deafening sound around him. He tried to find something he could grip into, but there was nothing beside the endless darkness around him. Minho felt himself falling deeper and deeper into the darkness as his heart rate increased and his breathing became uneven.

He landed unexpectedly, but not painfully a moment later. As he sat up on the ground he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He felt wet sand under his body, his clothes were wet too, as well as his hair. He smell the scent of the sea in the air. He had never seen a beach before, but now he was here, the sun was shining and everything was beautiful. But this beauty didn't last long. As he rose slowly from the ground and turned around shaking he soon saw the storm.

The storm that looked straight at him with it’s yellow eyes and saw everything: it saw what was beautiful and saw what caused him pain, Minho's whole life was an open book in front of it. The boy's head pounding, his tears flowed in streams and he just prayed that the pain would end once. But behind the storm was the gate, wide open, letting all the evil that was on the other side out to Minho’s world. Yellow leaves were dancing in the sand, Minho's memories of his lost childhood was in the air, in the water, in the ground. He groaned in pain as he fell to the ground and found himself in the warehouse again the next moment.

"Chan?" He asked in a hopeful tone, but his gasps were the only sound that broke the empty silence of the warehouse. No one was there except him alone. "Chan?" He asked again and rose from the floor. Minho knew something was wrong, the others would have to be here, because they were all here when he was trying to find the monster.

He gets more scared as he looked around again, his gasps began to turn into paniced breathing. He hoped the others would step out from behind the boxes and shelves, but there was silence and no one came out, Minho was completely alone. "Chan?" His heart clenched as he screamed the boy’s name and his tears began to burst again. However his own breathing was still the only sound could be heared in the warehouse.

"He can't hear you," said a calm, creepy voice, and the warehous door slammed open as the man he had just seen stepped in - or more precisely, the man whose body was now dominated by the monster. Minho gasped in fear as their eyes met and took a shaking step back, the man’s eyes reflecting pity. However, those eyes look deep into the boy's soul and were slowly and systematically tearing Minho into pieces. "You shouldn't have look for me because now I can see you. You were the one who let us in and now you will be the one who will let us stay.” The man spoke slowly, but his voice only increased fear in the boy and it was worse than when he opened the gate.

Minho shook his head as he's trembling badly, his tears keeps falling as the monster approached him and he backed away. But his back soon hit the cold wall of the warehouse, there was nowhere to escape.

"Don't you see that it's happened all because of you? That this all happened for you? ”A smile appeared on the man’s face, Minho shook his head again and again, his tears couldn’t be stopping. “Everything we did… it was all because of you, always because of you. It's time to finish this now and you'll be the first to end. And then, if you are gone, your friends will be end too and then everyone else. ”He laughed softly.

"No ..." Minho whispered, his tears blurring his vision as his trembling hands running through his hair. His head pounded in pain, he knew it was all his fault, he should never have open that gate because this monster and the storm just wanted to do one thing in this world: to destroy everything and everyone, to destroy this world forever. The world they were allowed to step into because of Minho.

Minho took hold of himself and reached out his arm, and at the same time the man fell out of the warehouse’s door. A minute later the boy opened his eyes again panting heavly as he is sitting in the warehouse again, but now he was not alone.

"Minho!" Chan's voice was close to his ear, the boy hugging his shaking body tightly. Minho's blood spilled from his nose and his tears were still flowing. Looking over Chan's shoulder, he saw Changbin, Jisung and Felix staring at him in horror. "It’s okay, I'm here, it’s okay!"

"No, no, nothing's okay!” Minho's voice quivered as he pulled away from Chan and looked into his eyes. "It saw me and everything was my fault ..." Minho panted as he lowered his head and wiped the blood from his nose.

"No, Minho, it's not your fault!" Chan insisted, but the boy kept shaking his head.

"But it is my fault, mine, because of me ..." Minho suddenly paused. "It’s on it’s way here!" He said as he looked back at Chan.

Changbin reached for the air gun immediately and shoved Jisung and Felix behind himself. Chan helped Minho get up from the flooe and took the baseball bat with himself. Minho wanted to say something to them, mostly tell them to run away, to leave him here and go, because the monster is here for him. But he remembered that the monster told him that if it was done with him, it would kill his friends and then everyone else, because he wanted to destroy everything in this world. It was here to made way to the storm with the yellow eyes, they wanted this world all to themselves.

There was silence, none of them moving for a long time, then suddenly it felt like the whole house is shaking. They looked frightened at the ceiling where the sound was supposed to be heard, it was clear that they were no longer safe here. In the next minute the entire building seemed to move and cracks began to form along the walls toward the ceiling.

"Stay close to me," Chan said, but Minho suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled the boy away. The next moment, with a huge roar, the door broke open.

Minho was the first to see the monster face to face. He no longer wore the skin of the man he had just seen, and instead wore the form that showed his true self. The monster was standing on four feet, where its head should have been there were no eyes, only a huge roaring mouth with many pointed teeth. It seemed as if it doesn’t have any skin at all, it’s body was only covered with red-hot flesh.

"NO!" Minho screamed and raised his arm, the beast was trembling, then falling into the grassy area in front of the house. "Go away now, quickly!" He turned to the others. The monster screamed and suddenly they heard a knock on the ceiling.

"We're not leaving you here, Minho, don't even..." Chan began, but suddenly one of the monster's thick legs tore a hole into the ceiling. They had to squat down to prevent them from being hit by the monster’s leg. Minho raised his arm again, the creature screams as its foot slammed against the wall of the warehouse. The ceiling had now broken at another spot, Felix screamed in fear as plaster fell into his hair.

"It'll follow me, just get out of here!" Minho asked desperately and squeezed Chan's arm for a moment. "Please, I beg you!"

"No!" Chan said and grabbed into Minho's hand. "We told you that we would be by your side whatever happens!"

"You're going to die!" Minho shouted as the whole house crackling under the beast's body.

"We have to get out of the here, Chan," Changbin said nervously and fired the air gun at one of the monster’s feet which hanged low through one of the hole from the ceiling. The creature screaming in pain, it seemed that the air gun could be effective.

"Hyung, we need to call Woojin hyung!" Felix shouted as Changbin fired once more at the creature's leg and it screaming again.

“Why the fuck? Felix, we don’t have time for this at all! ”Chan screamed, not realizing that Minho was still clutching his arm.

"His dad used to go hunting, he has weapons!" Felix shouted.

"That could be useful," Jisung said. Chan hasn't had much time to think about this, is it a good idea to get more people into this? Is it a good idea for Woojin to find out everything about Minoh and the lab?

"Chan!" Changbin screamed and looked at his friend for a moment. "This air gun won’t be enough!"

"Okay, okay!" Chan screamed and looked at Minho, the boy's nose still bleeding and he’s gasping as his tears still flowing like crazy. "Minho, could you please use your ability? Just enough to make this thing disappear for a little while! ”Chan asked and looked into the boy's eyes. Minho was perplexed, still blaming himself, and Chan was sure he'd like it better if all of them just leave, but he wouldn't leave Minho alone for anything.

"Hyung!" Felix screamed desperately as one of the windows broke. The monster roared outside on the roof of the house, flapping his tentacle-like legs and they all knowing they wouldn't have much time to escape. Minho suddenly pulled his hand away from Chan and ran out of the warehouse.

"Minho!" Chan wanted to go after him, but Changbin grabbed his arm to push him back. They heard Minho screaming outside, and the next moment the whole house shook again, the monster roared again, but soon they heard a huge thump, suggesting that Minho had done what Chan had asked him to do. "Minho!" Chan was the first to leave the warehouse.

"Quickly!" Minho screamed, panting hard. The monster landed on the other side of the car and moaned as trying to recover and get up again.

"Come on, we have to hurry up," Changbin said, and they hurriedly got into the car, Chan immediately started the car, but from the rearview mirror they still saw the monster.

"It'll come after us," Minho said, while Felix had already taken out his cellphone and made a phone call.

"Woojin doesn't live far from here," Jisung said. "Right, Chan?”

"Yeah, it only takes half an hour… maybe not even that much," Chan said, while Minho still looked out from the back of the car. The monster was slowly absorbed by the darkness as the car moved away from the warehouse, but that didn't mean they were safe. Minho felt its gaze on himself as if it was in all his thoughts and trembling as he remembered the yellow eyes. This monster was only a part of the storm that raged beyond the gate. This monster was probably just the beginning, but Minho now understood the purpose of the storm beyond the gate, it wanted to destroy this world.

“Woojin hyung! I'm Felix… yes, something’s wrong! ”Felix spoke so quickly it was hard to follow. "We need your dad’s weapons... I know, I’ll explain it later but I don’t have time now, please!"

"Give me the phone, Felix," Changbin said nervously as Chan continued to drive faster.

"It’s okay, Changbin!" Felix said, similarly nervous. "Yes, I'm with them ... yes, they too ... no, hyung, I beg you to help!"

"Give me that shit!" Changbin suddenly screamed and turned to grab the cellphone from Felix, then continued to scream. "Listen, your dad is the only one in this freaking town who's carrying weapons and we need them as soon as possible... no, shit, we on our way there and you’ll understand! You know what? The whole fucking city is in danger, there's a damn huge monster we can't just kill without a proper weapon… yeah, and you know there were human experiments in the lab all this time? Oh, yes, we have a subject who escaped from the lab and by the way he has telekinetic abilities, so I wouldn't be this annyoing if I would be you! Yeah, five minutes and we're there, fuck you! ”Changbin tossed the phone back to Felix after he hung up.

"Are you an idiot, Changbin?" Felix asked angrily. "How could you talk to Woojin hyung like that?"

"He is a fucking idiot, why wouldn’t he understand that there is a fucking monster in town?"

"Well, it's not an ordinary story," said Jesung nervously.

"Everyone calm down!" Chan suddenly screamed. "Woojin will understand and I know he'll help, Felix is his friend!"

"He is your friend too, hyung," Felix said nervously.

"Let's not talk about this now!" Chan asked.

"No, we have to talk about this, because you three were the ones who moved away, otherwise we would all be friends now," Felix said nervously. “Just because Woojin hyung is attending university he’s not stopped to existing! You're going to university next year, Chan! ”

"At the moment it doesn't seem like that either of us is going to attend any fucking university!" Changbin said irritably, then suddenly they all stopped talking. The air became tense in the car in no time.

"What… what is a university?" Minho asked quietly to break the tense silence.

"It doesn’t matter now," Chan replied and they no longer saying a word to each other again.

Minutes later they arrived at the house where Woojin lived. Chan ran off the trash can outside the house elegantly with his car, but now he didn't care as they got out and stopped in front of the older boy who waited for them. It seemed like his parents aren’t home which was great news, Chan wouldn’t have time to explain them too why they are together with a runaway from the lab and what kind of monster is at their back.

"We don't have time to explain anything," Chan said before Woojin could greet them. "Where are the weapons?"

"In the shed," Woojin said, pointing to the back of the garden where the little shed was beneath the trees. "But you still have to explain what the hell is going on," the elder added. "And you should introduce your new friend to me."


	5. The Laboratory

Only in the shed did the five boys find out that Woojin was not alone. Even Felix became nervous when he saw that Hyunjin, Seungmin and Jeongin were here. Of course, the weapons were also here and they had no choice, because the weapons were needed if they were to somehow defeat the monster. Chan was convinced that the weapons would only slow down the creature, but it wouldn’t be able to defeat it completely until Minho closed the gate.

Minho didn't look at them as Chan explained what is going on, instead looking out the only window that the shed had. He was terrified that the monster would appear at any moment and attack them again. He may even have found it strange that it hadn’t appeared here yet. It came to the warehouse almost immediately after it told Minho their plan, and it was clear that it wanted to finish him as soon as possible, and then complete the rest of their plan.

"Do you want me to really believe all this?" Woojin asked skeptically, after Chan outlined how Minho was found and what was happening in the lab. "There's a monster out there, and this boy can solve everything... do you really think I believe this story?"

"Yes," Chan said nervously. "Listen, we don't have time for this, the monster follows Minho and since Minho is here, it’s probably on it’s way here!"

"And what are your plans if I gave the rifles to you?" Woojin asked as he looked at them. "My dad kills me if something’s happen with his weapons!"

"Fuck your dad," Changbin said irritably. "You wanna die, Woojin or what?"

"Hyung, please..." Felix stepped forward. "Trust me, I saw that monster, no one is safe!"

"Felix, what the hell has gotten into you?" Hyunjin asked nervously. "I knew Chan, Jisung and Changbin had changed, but you..."

"It doesn't matter now," said Jisung, similarly nervous. "Yes, we moved away from each other, yes, that was a mistake, but now we need each other more than ever! I'm not kidding, Hyunjin, don't look at me like I'm an idiot!"

"Chan, we don't have much time," Minho said confused as he turned back from the window. "We can't let it follow us here!"

"Minho is your name, right?" Woojin asked and stepped closer, the boy looked at him and nodded confused. "Are you seriously escaped from the lab?" The boy looked at Chan, who nodded to him that he could talk to Woojin.

"Yes, everything they said was true," Minho replied. "But we don't have time now."

"How can we believe you anyway?" Seungmin suddenly asked. "We don't even know who you are."

"I don't really know who I am either," he replied frankly, then took a deep breath. "Look at that box," he pointed to one of the the smaller box on the floor.

"That's bullshit ..." Hyunjin muttered, but all four boys looked at the box. Minho lifted his arm, pointed his palm toward the box, and at that moment the box rose into the air, and when he lowered his arm, the box immediately fell back to the ground.

"We need to make the monster to come to the lab. It needs to get back there before I close the gate," Minho said quickly and clung to Chan's arms. "We have to leave now!"

"Will you give the rifles to us or not?" Chan asked and looked at Woojin. The older still couldn't look away from the box that had just risen into the air because of Minho’s ability.

"Yes, I'll give them to you," Woojin said after a moment of silence. “But don't think you can go there alone. If that's true, you'll need me too. ”

"Actually, I don’t…" Changbin began.

"We're all going," Hyunjin said suddenly. "So how do you shoot with this?" He asked and grabbed one of the rifles.

****

Chan wasn't sure at all that it was a good idea for all nine of them to go to the lab, but it wasn't time to discuss it and apparently he couldn't convince the others how bad it was anyway. Neither of them knew what was waiting for them in the lab, nor could they properly assess the consequences of opening the gate. Chan was sure that his father was still there, and maybe he was trying to fix at least something that had gone wrong.

Woojin showed them how to use the rifles, but still they could only carry four. Changbin handed the air gun to Jisung, so one of the rifles eventually became his. The other ones became Woojin and Hyunjin’s, and the last one was given to Chan so he could pass the baseball bat to Felix.

"I doubt it was a good idea," Changbin said as they drove to the lab. Woojin and the others came in close behind them with the older’s car.

"You shouldn't have talked to Woojin hyung like that on the phone," Felix said nervously. "Don't be surprised that our friendship fall apart!"

"Is it necessary to come back to this topic all the time?" Chan asked angrily. "We are in greater trouble now than trying to fix our broken friendship!"

"Of course, why would you care ..." Felix said angrily.

"We care!" Jisung defended his friend. "But closing the gate and killing that monster is more important now, Chan is right!"

"Are you even on his side? Pathetic, seriously… ”Felix continued to be angry.

"Why would he be at your side anyway?" Chan asked nervously.

"Because he is in love with me!" Felix said nervously, causing silence again. Changbin turned to the back seat, shocked.

"How do you know about it? Jisung thought you think that he is an idiot! ”Changbin said. "Did you always know he was in love with you?"

"No, I realized it some months ago… I'm not as stupid as you think!" Felix said. "I also found out that someone or something was hidden in the basement!"

"Chan, we have to stop here," Minho said suddenly.

"Do you feel something?" Chan asked and began to slow down, then pulled over and parked the car at the edge of the road. Behind him, Woojin followed suit. "The lab entrance is still far from here."

"We won't be able to use the main entrance," Minho replied.

"Then where are we going in?" Chan asked as Woojin and the others got out of the car.

"Somewhere at the back," Minho replied, heading for the edge of the forest that surrounded the lab. He shivered as he led the small team toward the potential entrance. If he just thought about how he left the lab, his heart cluched in pain. This place had been his home for many years, and even now he could see his father's gaze as he glanced back at him for a moment as he escaped. He was disappointed because he had escaped, perhaps if he had stayed he wouldn’t have caused such a problem.

"Are you all right?" Chan asked softly as he walked next to Minho. The leaves on the ground squealed loudly under their feet.

"As we get closer to the gate, it gets worse," Minho said honestly. "I didn't want you to be a part of this."

"I know, but we're friends, we're by your side," Chan said. "You know that means whatever we do, we'll be there with you?"

"I know," the boy nodded. "Maybe my dad's still here, inside the lab."

"Probably my dad is here, too," Chan said as they stopped by the wire fence. The boy grasped the rifle harder and looked at Minho for a moment. "You'll be able to close the gate, I'm sure!"

"You look a lot like him, you know?" Minho asked, but Chan looked at him confused. "Dr. Bang, your dad. ”He added and smiled at the boy for a moment.

"Oh… thank you," Chan said, nodding embarrassed.

"He's a good person, not like my father," Minho said. "Although it's hard to say that I hate my dad... because it's not true, I love him, he's important to me, but he's a bad person," he added, and carefully held Chan’s hand for a minute.

"I know," the other boy nodded. "How are we gonna get there?"

"Just trust me," Minho said, gently pulling his hand away from the boy, then raising both arms in the air to break the wire fence at one point in a single movement.

****

The silence was overwhelming and Chan hadn't imagined the lab like this before putting his foot in it. It was strange that they could shoomthly enter through the electric door that they found and finally they came to the conclusion that there was apparently a power outage in the building at intervals.

Minho breathing oddly, and Chan dared to swear that he seemed weaker and weaker as they walked into the lab. Then they heard the sounds they there were strange noises coming from somewhere deep.

"What's that?" Seungmin asked softly.

"I don't know," answered Jisung just as quietly. "I find it strange that no one noticed that we are here."

"They noticed," Minho said softly, pointing to a camera on the wall at the end of the corridor. "They see us, but not just them."

“Is it here, Minho? The monster? ”Chan asked softly.

"It could have arrived before us," the boy nodded and shook his head for a moment. "The gate is close," he added, and slowly he continued down the corridor.

But suddenly they all stopped as someone began to talk to them. Of course, only through a microphone and Chan couldn’t understand a word of the man who spoke to them. His voice was strange, he spoke quickly, but Minho seemed to understand what he was saying.

"Папа!" Minho said loudly, Changbin and Chan looked at each other for a minute, then Minho suddenly ran toward the end of the corridor.

"Minho!" Chan screamed, trying to keep up with him. "What's happening? Is that your father's voice? What is he saying?"

"Я здесь! я собираюсь остановить это! я собираюсь помочь! ”the boy screamed, but not to them. The man in the microphone said something desperately, then suddenly yelled. It was creepy, and Minho paused and looked at the ceiling in fright.

"Minho?" Chan asked after standing with Minho behind the others.

"Папа?" Minho didn't pay attention, he was still looking at the ceiling, but the man who had spoken to them hadn't answered anymore.

The lights flickered over their heads and a door suddenly opened on one side of the corridor. A tall, dark-haired man stepped out, in a torn suit, his eyes strangely staring at the small team. Minho whimpered, holding his hand to his mouth.

"Minho, who is this?" Chan asked, touching the boy's shoulder.

"My father," Minho whispered. "But it is not really him anymore," he added softly.

"What do you mean he’s not really your father anymore?" Changbin asked stunned, but the next moment a door slid open behind them and the monster's familiar screaming filled the hallway. It hurrying tiwards them on its heavy legs, Woojin shot at it without thinking. He managed to hit one of its legs, slowing the creature down for a moment.

"There!" Minho said, stretching his hand forward, the door closest to them tore open and behind it there were more doors that lead to another corridors. "Quickly, go!"

"Minho!" Chan grabbed the boy's hand.

"Go, Chan!" Minho tried to shake off the older’s arm as the others continued shooting at the monster. Changbin hit the monster directly above his huge mouth, making it growl loudly, but it didn't even made it fall. "Go away!"

"I won't leave you!" Chan said nervously.

"You have to!" Minho pushed the boy away from himself and started running across the corridor where his father was.

"Minho!" Chan shouted, but the boy didn't look back. His father's body suddenly jerked back and hit the opposite wall, Minho jumped over his body, then disappeared at the end of the hallway, Chan was sure he was headed toward the gate.

"Go after him," Felix said suddenly, grabbing Chan's arm. "Don't leave Minho alone!"

"The monster ..." Chan began.

"We’ll try to keep it here," Changbin said as he’s reloading the rifle. The monster seemed to be getting slower, but it was clear that it wouldn’t just die easily. To put an end to this, the gate had to be closed and Minho was now approaching the gate.

"Chan, go after him!" Felix almost begged, so the boy could do nothing but go after Minho. Chan didn’t realize that Luka Mironov's body had disappeared from the hallway in the meantime.

****

Minho gasped as he slowed down and looked at every open door he had passed. The lab was like a labyrinth, but each room was familiar to the boy. His ears were ringing, he could still hear the deafening sound of the storm, felt it’s gaze on him, and he knew he was near the gate. Even though he had approached the gate only with astral projection before, he was sure there was a physical gate somewhere in the lab and he wasn’t mistaken.

As he got closer and closer, his whole body started hurting. The walls of the corridor were painted yellow by the light emanating from the gate. As Minho finally saw the gate beyond one of the glass walls, even his breath was stilled and he was just standing outside and had no idea what to do. It was much more bigger than he remembered and the sound coming from behind was terrible.

Only later did he see the man behind the glass wall who furiously press buttons on some electric machine.

"Dr. Bang! ”The boy screamed and tapped the glass wall with all his strength as he recognized the man's shape. "Dr. Bang! "

The man turned around and looked at the boy stunned for a few minutes, then stepped over to the glass wall to look at him. He pressed a button on the wall and one of the doors opened so he could step out into the hallway.

"Sasha?" He asked, stunned, gently touching the boy's face, kindly caressing him, and Minho was happy to finally receive some kind of love here in the lab. "Why did you come back?"

"To close the gate." Minho's tears began to fall again. "And my name is Minho."

"Minho ..." he said quietly. "We made a huge mistake."

"I know, but I can stop it, I promise I can stop it!"

"Minho!" Chan's voice hit their ears and they both flinched for a minute.

"Chan?" Dr. Bang asked, shocked. “What are you doing here? What's in your hand? "

"Dad, we don’t have time to explain ..." the boy said, but he paused when he saw what was behind the glass wall. "Is this the gate, Minho?" He asked.

"Do you know each other?" Dr. Bang asked, even more shocked.

"Yes, he lived in our cellar after escaping from here and I accidentally hit him with my car," Chan said quickly. “Dad, I think you'd better leave now. That monster is not far away, Minho has to close the gate and… ”

The monster roared so loudly that the whole building shook. Minho turned to the gate, the yellow eyes staring at him, and he remembered the words the monster was telling him. He let in the monster here and it wants to stay, also the monster was part of the storm. Minho didn't want any of his friends to get in trouble, he didn't want to them to be a part in this, but now they were the ones trying to stop the monster for him so he could close the gate. He couldn't miss this opportunity, not now.

"I have to close the gate," Minho said again. "Where are the other doctors, Dr. Bang?"

"A lot of people have been quit, and then... this gate has an effect on people," he explained nervously. "Your father looks like he's gone crazy ... there are some people who went to the other side and never came back."

"The storm,it’s calling them ... it's like ..." Minho couldn't know what to compare to it, his vocabulary was too small to explain himself.

"Mind control," Chan and Dr. Bang said simultaneously.

"It affect them with something that few can resist," Dr. Bang said. "Come on, close the gate!" He added firmly and went ahead, Chan and Minho followed him into the room without a word.

The gate was dazzlingly yellow, much worse than Minho remembered. Somehow he had the feeling that it was easier to open it than to close it. The boy suspected that this storm had brought fear into his mind, he’s trembling as he watched the gate open with big eyes. But he had to overcome his fears if he wanted to save his friends.

"It'll work, just concentrate!" Dr. Bang was just as kind as when they opened the gate or during training. It gave a sense of familiarity to Minho and he began to feel relaxed. However it was difficult to close out the fear, but the presence of Dr. Bang and Chan soothed him.

He didn't even noticed that he gently took Chan's hand in his. The boy's long fingers were tightly tied to his smaller fingers and Minho felt safe. Although the gate was still open in front of him and the monster was still free out in their world, he felt stronger than ever because Chan was next to him.

"Let's get this started," Minho said, pulling his hand away from the older boy, raising both of his arms in the air and hoping he could make it right this time.

****

Woojin and Changbin shot the monster as often as they could, leaving behind new corridors after themselves. The others ran in front of them, and sometimes they glanced back at the monster, which had wiped everything out itself as he tried to catch them.

"We have to try to barricade ourselves somewhere, Woojin," Changbin said, turning once more to shoot the rifle.

"I know," Woojin gasped. "That room looks good there!" He waved his head to the end of the corridor. Changbin couldn't count how long they were running and how many rooms were left behind them. Although they saw people in the lab, most of them looked unconscious or dead. It was a creepy sight honestly.

"Jisung, we have to reach the room at the end of the corridor," Changbin said, and the younger looked back for a moment. The minute the monster was stuck on one of the narrower doorways and began to scream in a terrible voice, the wall began to crack around them.

Jisung nodded, and when they reached the room slowly Woojin and Changbin stopped to shoot another bullet into the creature, then retreated into the room after the others. Hyunjin and Jisung helped to barricade the entrance, but shortly after, the monster jumped straight to the door.

Felix screamed in horror, the door dented, but the monster couldn't get inside. Jeongin clung to Seungmin's trembling hands terrified, Felix knew it was the worst idea to get his friends involved into this. He thought of Chan, and sincerely hoped that his brother would find Minho, who might be able to close the gate as soon as possible.

****

All Minho's fears centered around the picture of the gate, the big yellow eyes that haunted him from the first moment he opened it, now it looking like an old acquaintance. The storm beyond the gate was grateful because Minho opened the way here to it. Perhaps it didn't even know before that there was another world beyond what it’s knew, a place where everything could be it's own - the storm looked upon itself as an absolute being above everything else. That's why it told its goal through the monster to Minho, because it was sure he would be able to destroy everything and everyone and because it wanted Minho to know that it owed it to him.

The boy had to belive that he could be strong enough to make it right what he had done. Dr. Bang squeezed his shoulder for a moment, which meant a lot to him, reminding him of the old trainings, the tiring days he spent to gain more power and move even more heavier and bigger objects with his ability. Dr. Bang was always there for him, no matter what he had to do.

Minho took a deep breath and looked straight into the yellow eyes. He didn't say anything, but he wished that this unknown monster knew that he wouldn't let its plan to come true. Minho decided not to surrender and not let this monster kill anyone that he could finally call his family. He had to do it for them so they could survive.

"Well done, everything will be fine!" Dr. Bang's voice was reassuring, Minho was able to focus more thanks to him, but the pain soon passed through his entire body. Blood dripped from his nose, and soon blood flowed from his mouth as he yelled in pain.

Chan could hardly believe his eyes, even though the gate was there, completely and truly open. More precisely, the whole gate looked like a crack in the concrete wall of the lab. But the crack was huge, and he could see what Minho was talking about, the storm that was watching them with it's yellow eyes. Fear sparkled throughout the room, filling all of his senses, but Chan did his best to overcome it. He looked at his father, who was still clutching Minho's shoulder, now at this moment he seemed stronger than ever.

" Стоп, Саша! Вы не можете закрыть ворота!” Chan immediately turned around as he heard the man's voice. The Russian man stood behind them, his hands covered in blood and looked at his son with crazy eyes. Chan's father also turned around and for a moment Minho almost moved.

"No, don't break the connection, Minho," said Dr. Bang and didn’t let Minho to turn around. "Just focus on the gate!"

"Вы впустили меня, и теперь вы должны позволить мне остаться!" The man screamed and the next minute he tried to jump onto Minho, but Chan stepped in front of him and fired his rifle before he could do it.

The bullet hit the man’s shoulder, he screamed in agony as he lay on the floor. Minho was probably right, this man was no longer Luka Mironov.

"Dr. Bang, I have to see him… ”Minho gasped. "I need to see my father!"

"Minho, he's not your father anymore," Chan said, but Minho fell to the floor exhausted and the gate was still open.

"Папа…" the boy whispered as he turned around and crawled beside the Russian man's writhing body.

"Minho ..." said Dr. Bang.

"Оставь меня в покое!" Minho screamed and held his arm out for a moment, and Dr. Bang's body hit one of the nearby machines.

"Dad!" Chan walked over to the man to help him up from the floor. "Are you okay?" The boy asked in a worried voice.

"Of course, that's perfectly understandable, just…" he explained as they turned back to Minho and saw the boy carefully grabbing one of his father's hands.

"Папа, это я, Саша!" Minho's tears fluttered as he squeezed his hand tightly. "Я знаю, что это на самом деле не ты… Но я здесь… Я собираюсь положить этому конец! Я обещаю, что сделаю это правильно! "

Minho wanted to believe that when he looked at him, his father was really looking at him. He suddenly remembered memories of his childhood when he wasn't living here, but somewhere in Russia with his father – they were old memories that he could only vaguely recall. But whatever man Luka Mironov was, Minho knew he really loved him, as if he were his own blood. Minho knew that he was primarily important due to his ability, but yet he had received love from him and Minho had never known love other than what he had received from him. Seeing the man dying for what they had worked for so hard was heartbreaking, as he always talked about opening the gate as their main goal. And now he suffered because od the gate and the monsters, because the fear that has been let into this world now become part of his father. Minho looked at him with tears in his eyes, he had no idea how he could save him.

"Слишком поздно," the man said suddenly and Minho didn't have time to react. His father's fingers curled around his neck and he choked as he scrached his hand desperately. He might have used his ability against his father, but he couldn't.

"Папа, пожалуйста..." the boy whimpered, but in the next moment, Chan intervened and struck the man's temple with the grip of his rifle.

Luka Mironov lay unconscious on the floor a minute later, and Minho coughed on the floor. He looked at the man's still body sobbing, then got on his feet trembling from the floor and embraced Chan.

"I'm sorry," Minho whispered, clinging to the boy's shirt. "Chan, I'm so sorry!"

"Minho, the gate!" Dr. Bang warned, and Minho pulled away from Chan. He looked at the older for a moment, and Chan wiped the tears from Minho's face with trembling hands.

"The gate must be closed, Minho," the boy said calmly, and Minho nodded, then turned to the gate again. As he saw the yellow eyes again, he knew that he would have no more options: he would have to close the gate now or he would never have the chance again.


	6. Yellow Eyes

Changbin and Woojin exchanged nervous glances, both of them realizing that they were not safe in this room too and that the monster wouldn’t just leave because it knew they were hiding here. Whatever this creature seemed to be, it was self-conscious and even clever.

"What the hell is Minho doing?" Changbin asked nervously, pointing his rifle at the door. None of them could tell how long it would take for the monster to break through their impromptu barricade.

"You know, if I didn't see it with my own eyes, I would’ve never believed you," said Woojin, who was also staring at the door stiffly.

"I know," Changbin nodded, and outside, the monster struck the door again with all its strength. Behind them, Jeongin and Seungmin both screamed in horror. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked to you like that on the phone, just the whole situation..."

"It's okay," Woojin said. "But there will surely be some things to discuss later."

"If we survive," Changbin replied and looked back for a moment. "Hyunjin, Jisung, you will be needed soon," he added, and the two boys nodded.

"Jisung…" Felix grabbed the boy's arm before he could walk over to Changbin. "Don’t die!"

"I can't promise you that," Jisung laughed confused. "You saw what we're up against."

"I saw, but you haven't even asked me out on a date, and that shouldn't be like that. So don't die, please!" Felix begged.

"Um, you may not want to discuss this now!" Changbin said nervously and Felix released Jisung’s hand. The younger stood next to Changbin and took a deep breath when the door finally gave up and started cracking loudly.

Felix stayed in front of Seungmin and Jeongin, he hoped that he could at least protect them from the monster. His hands trembled as he squeezed the baseball bat tightly. He would’ve been glad if Chan was here, but the boy had to be with Minho now. Felix sincerely hoped that the boy would be able to close the gate.

The door of the room burst with a loud noise and the beast leapt into the center of the room with a roar. Changbin was the first to shoot, followed by Woojin, but it was as if this had no effect on the monster anymore. It was constantly screaming and stomping with its heavy legs from time to time. From the left side of the room Hyunjin hit the monster's nape with a bullet, Jisung aimed to its side from the other corner. The creature screamed and groaned at once, then suddenly it turned its shapeless head to Felix’s direction. The boy looked back at it, though he could not see the eyes, but the mosnter opened its mouth and threw himself at him the next moment.

"Felix!" Jisung yelled as shots fired constantly. Felix gathered all his power and pulled the baseball bat in front of himself and squeezed it across the beast's teeth. He screamed as he tried to keep the creature away from himself and kicked the monster with one foot on its chest - or at least where he thought its chest should be. The monster staggered back for a minute, but the next moment the baseball bat broke in between its jaws and Felix looked frightened at the pointed teeth in front of him.

Woojin shot at the monster again, but it didn't look at them its sharp teeth sunk into Felix's arm with a quick move.

"Felix!" Seungmin screamed in horror at his ears, and the boy sobbed, trying to pull his bleeding arm away from the monster's mouth.

****

Chan was sure that whatever he was going through, Minho was going to suffer the worst pain he had ever experienced. He glanced at his father, who was constantly trying to keep the boy calm. Chan now understood what Minho was talking about, and his father had always knew how to reassure others. He remembered his childhood when Felix had been having strange nightmares for a while, and their father was the only one who could calm his brother.

"Don't be afraid of it, Minho, you are much stronger!" He said in the calmest voice possible.

Minho's blood spilled from his nose, but he didn't lower his arms for a minute. Chan breathed unevenly, the storm staring straight at them with yellow eyes. The boy carefully turned his rifle barrel towards it, hiwever he wasn't sure any weapon would be effective against it. The monster still crawling freely in the lab was different - it had a body, but this storm, it was bodyless and yet it could manipulate anyone easily as it turned out.

"That's it!" Dr. Bang exclaimed and gave Chan an excited look. "It seems to work!" He enthusiastically added.

Chan saw what his father was talking about. The crack in the wall slowly began to contract. As Minho screamed senseless words in his pain, Chan saw blood flowing from his ears too. The older was uncertain for a moment, but carefully moved one step closer to Minho.

"Minho, I'm here," he whispered into the boy's ear, who still hadn't taken his eyes off the gate.

"Chan…" Minho said softly and took a deep breath.

"I know it hurts, I could see it... but it's about to end, you're almost done!"

Suddenly, the sound of a monster wandering in the lab shook their ears and Minho shivered. Chan grabbed his waist before the boy fell. Minho closed his eyes for a minute, but his arms were still in the air.

"Felix..." Minho whispered weakly.

"What about him?" Chan asked frightened. Dr Bang's other son's name caught his eye and looked at Chan and Minho in horror.

"Is Felix here somewhere too?" Dr. Bang asked nervously.

"He came with us ..." Chan explained. "Minho? What happened? What about Felix? "

"The monster..." Minho's voice grew weaker, Chan feared the boy would faint.

"Dad, I need to find them, stay here with Minho," Chan said, and Dr. Bang moved closer to hold Minho's body in his arms. By now, all of the boy's limbs were trembling, but he was still holding his arms straight ahead and the gate seemed to be getting smaller.

"Chan…" Dr. Bang said, but by then he had run towards the exit and didn’t look back at them.

****

Jisung didn’t think when he saw that the monster had bitten Felix, simply he didn’t have time to think whether it was a good idea to attack the monster on his own or not. He leaned straight against the creature and struck its head with the air gun's grip, but it seemed like that it didn't even feel it. Felix gasped and cried in pain, but the monster didn’t let go of his arm.

"Jisung, get away from it!" Changbin screamed nervously, from the other corner of the room Hyunjin fired at the creature's foot, causing its to release Felix's arm for a minute and yelp.

With a gasp, Felix withdrew his injured hand from the monster, if Seungmin and Jeongin hadn't grabbed him by the shoulder, he would probably have fallen to the floor immediately.

"Die you freaking monster!" Jisung screamed, and now the monster was watching him with all its senses. The boy picked up the air gun and shot it straight into the creature's open mouth, which making an odd whimpering sound again.

"Jisung, get away from it!" Changbin repeated nervously, searching for new bullets in his pocket. "Damn, I'm out of bullets... Woojin..."

"Don't move," Woojin said, and suddenly there was silence in the room, except for the creature's whining voice. The monster staggered toward Jisung, seeming weak as blood dripped from its mouth. "Jisung, don't move!"

"I want it to die already!" Jisung said angrily, but did as Woojin asked. However, he held the air gun close to him, ready to shoot the monster again if necessary.

"It’s weakened ..." Hyunjin whispered.

"Minho may have just begun to close the gate," Changbin remarked, watching Woojin pointing his rifle at the creature, exactly where its spine had to be.

"Stay still, don't move, Jisung!" Woojin asked, a second later the monster leapt from the floor and jumped straight towards Jisung. Woojin pulled the trigger that minute and fired three shots in quick succession at the creature's backbone.

The monster fell to the ground and writhed in pain as Woojin led his friends toward the door. Felix clenched his blood-soaked arm with tears in his eyes, and when he stepped close to him, he could see that the monster's teeth left deep marks in the younger’s forearm.

"Come on, we have to go further, Felix," Jisung said, handing the air gun to Seungmin, who was looking at the weapon scared. Jisung carefully picked Felix on his back, who, due to his trembling legs, could not keep up with them otherwise.

Woojin waited for them all to come out into the hallway as the monster tried to slowly get to its feet again. The elder didn't know what could stop this thing, but he hoped Minho was closer to finding a solution. However, before he could leave the room, a deep growl burst from the monster's mouth.

"Run!" Woojin screamed, then jumped over the remains of the broken door and followed the others.

A minute later, the monster emerged after them, and because of the movements of its heavy limbs, it seemed as if a continuous earthquake had shaken the entire lab building. The walls began to crack, plaster falling over their heads and the lamps constantly vibrating in the corridors. None of them knew where they were going, but as they left empty corridors behind, they all hoped Minho would succeed.

****

"Dr. Bang, let me go! ”Minho asked quietly. "From here I won't be able to close it, let me go, please."

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Bang asked puzzled. "It's barely open..."

"No, no, I'm weak," Minho whispered. "Let me go, I have to go there!"

"Where?"

"The other side." Minho pointed at the gate with his head, Dr. Bang immediately understood what the boy was thinking.

"No, I can't let you…" the man replied, squeezing the boy's waist harder. "I know you can do it, you've almost closed it, just a little bit..."

"You're a very good person, Dr. Bang… Chan’s too," Minho said sadly, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. "But I'm not a good person and neither was my father, please let me go!"

"I can't, I just can't," he said, but he didn't expect Minho to not come to terms with that answer. Ever since he knew the boy, he had always done what he or his colleagues had asked him to do. He executed every command without question, attended every training, worked diligently to control his ability as much as possible. But Minho was already a different person as he ranaway from the lab, he’s changed because he knew the outside world noe.

The boy lowered one hand and carefully turned it to Dr. Bang. The man fell and slid back to the glass wall. Minho looked at him with sorrow in his eyes for a minute, then turned back to the gate.

"Minho, no!" Dr. Bang shouted, but the boy pushed his body against the wall again with a single gesture. "That can't be the only solution!"

"I'm sorry," Minho said, then lowered his other hand. The gate was smaller, but the yellow light still brightened the room. Minho stepped closer to the wall, still holding his other hand back so Dr. Bang still unable to rise from the glass wall.

"Minho!" He yelled, but the boy didn't look back. He closed his eyes as he entered the gate, the room filled with a deafening sound, Dr. Bang squeezed both hands onto his ears, and then the yellow lights suddenly disappeared and silence fell on the room.

****

Chan gasped, running through the unknown corridors, not knowing where they were entered exactly. The building was still unfamiliar to him, but the only thing floating in front of his eyes was that Felix was in trouble and that the whole thing had to do with the monster. Chan had already regretted to let his brother to come with them to the lab.

He was almost at the end of the hallway when he heard the monster's voice. He could almost see that the creature's amorphous body hit every wall as it’s moving around the corridors. He heard Changbin's voice from afar and when he reached the end of the corridor, he suddenly stumbled upon something. He slipped into the lobby of the lab with a fountain in the center.

"Changbin!" Chan screamed and rose from the ground, his knees throbbing in pain, he was sure it’s injured as he fell.

"Chan?" The younger one screamed and soon appeared at the end of the corridor with the small team. Behing them the monster approached loudly.

"Here!" Chan directed them behind the reception desk, only to notice that Felix's hand had been injured. Jisung carefully placed Felix by the wall, who was quietly sobbing and couldn't look at his injured arm.

"Where is Minho?" Changbin asked as he grabbed Chan's arm.

"He stayed at the gate, trying to close it, my father is with him..." as the boy said, a shook ran through the building. They saw the walls cracking in the lobby.

"Why is there no one here?" Woojin asked, gazing carefully from behind the counter. "The only people we saw were dead."

"I’m sure it is because of the gate, they realized that what they were allowed to enter into our world wanted to kill them," Chan said nervously. "Where's the monster?"

"It's been following us until now," Hyunjin said, and he looked out from behind the counter.

"This silence is suspicious..." Changbin said nervously. "I have no more bullets," he added.

"I still have some," Chan said, reaching into his pocket to give the box to his friend. He could hear Felix's gasping behind his back, but he didn't want to look at his brother - afraid he wouldn't be able to concentrate on the monster at all. Felix's safety was primary for him and he had to leave him for a minute and this happened of course.

"Calm down, please," said Jisung, Chan saw from the corner of his eyes that the boy take off the shirt he was wearing above his t-shirt and tie Felix's injured arm with it carefully. The boy was sobbing, and Chan didn't want to think about the pain he was going through. He sincerely hoped Minho would soon be able to close the gate. The monster grunted at the lobby and, miraculously, didn't notice the boys hiding behind the reception desk. Chan gasped as he pointed the barrel of his weapon at the creature but didn't want to shoot, knowing that it would only reveal their hiding place for the monster. Perhaps it began to weaken as Minho began to close the gate and so it didn't notice them immediately, Chan wasn't sure.

Soon the tremors that shook the building from time to time began to become even. Chan followed the monster with his gaze, and Changbin did the same, and as they exchanged a look they both nodded. Chan showed his friend with his free hand that he would go from one side and that Changbin should come from the other side then they could encircle the creature.

"What the hell are you doing?" Woojin whispered frantically.

"I'll kill that thing!" Chan retorted softly.

"No!" Woojin grabbed Chan's arm before he could stepping out of their shelter. "This monster ..."

Suddenly, Felix cried out in pain and the monster caught its head at their direction and screamed toward them. Chan stood up and pointed with his weapon straight at the monster's head. However, at that moment, the glass windows lining the lobby were all breaking loudly and the monster collapsed in front of the fountain with high-pitched screaming sounds leaving its mouth. The light bulbs on the ceiling mounted lights exploded one after another and finally the darkness settled in the laboratory. The monster was silent and motionless, and Chan looked at Changbin in the darkness, who’s watching the creature's still body in astonishment.

“Is it… dead?” Jeongin asked trembling while he’s looking at Chan

"I think so," Chan nodded and looked at Woojin, who had also risen from the floor and looked at the creature.

For minutes, no one said anything, only Felix's sobbing broke the silence. Chan thought that Minho might have managed to close the gate. This meant that it was all over, the monster couldn’t exist in this world with the gate closed.

"Chan ..." Changbin said and turned to his friend.

"We need to take care Felix’s injury," Jisung said before Chan could say anything.

"Let's find my dad and Minho," Chan said. However it seemed like that suddenly all problems were solved the older boy somehow felt that something wasn’t right. Minho probably closed the gate, the monster’s dead in the spacious lobby of the lab, but Chan felt a bitter taste in his mouth as they were on their way to the room where he left his father and Minho.

****

Minho stood with tearful eyes on the almost familiar beach, there was nothing but him and this huge storm that looked at the boy with its yellow eyes as if he were looking inside the boy. His head throbbed with pain, but he had to be strong. The gate closed at the minute he entered this world, not only as an astral projection, but in reality.

"You turned everything upside down," said a deep voice, and Minho looked with big eyes toward the storm.

He crossed the calculations of this creature - yes, he knew what the plan was, he knew it wanted to stay in their world with all the horror that man could imagine. Minho couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let it because of Chan, beacuse of his other friends, and he couldn't let it because of himself either. His father was killed by what was behind the gate, and although Luka Mironov was not his father by blood, he had lost everything he had ever have. But not completly, because Chan and the others were there for him now.

Minho said nothing, wiped his eyes and wiped the blood from his nose. This was the last fight he had to face and had to win alone.

"You could have been useful to me to stay in your world," said the same low voice. Minho shook his head and raised his arms in the air again, one thing was sure: he wouldn’t let it destroy the world that was Chan and his other friend’s home.


	7. Mind Control

Dr. Bang stared at the gray wall, now only a yellow glowing crack indicating the gate's location there. He couldn't stop Minho from going to the other side and somehow felt that he couldn't protect the boy. Minho's ability was useful, of course, but they couldn't know exactly what was ont he other side. Despite all the researches, they never really got to the end of this experiment. However Luka Mironov was already satisfied when they had found this dimension and could measure the exact location of the gate, he immediately wanted them to open the gate. The consequences didn't matter to him at the time, but Dr. Bang wasn't particularly careful too. In fact, the entire lab was convinced that what they were doing would be useful and important at some point - discovering a parallel dimension like the other side could have been a huge scientific breakthrough if not for monsters and other horrors that’ve been hiding there.

"We made a huge mistake," he whispered, placing one hand on the smooth surface of the wall beside the glowing crack.

The sound of footsteps struck his ear a minute later and when he turned around he saw that Chan had returned. He was no longer alone, among the other boys, Dr. Bang recognized Chan's two best friends and Felix's friends. His heart skipped a beat when he saw his younger son injured. Felix's arm was bloody and they were trying to temporarily help the situation with some piece of clothing fixed around the injury.

"Where is Minho?" Chan asked as he moved closer to his father. The man looked at him but couldn't answer. "Dad, where is Minho?" Chan repeated the question, but he just shook his head.

Chan looked at the wall over his shoulder and saw a crack where the gate was before. Chan's eyes turned tearful as he began to understand what his father's head shake meant.

"What happened to your hand?" Dr. Bang asked hoarsely as he moved closer to Jisung and Felix.

"The monster has bitten him," Jisung said nervously.

"It’s okay, we need to clean the wound," he said in a soothing voice. "Jisung, there must be a first aid box in one of the cabinets there, please find it," he added, and Jisung did what he asked him to do.

Chan turned and looked at his father with tears in his eyes.

"What happened to him?" He asked trembling, but Dr. Bang was busy taking the bloody shirt off Felix's hand. Chan nervously moved closer to his father and grabbed his shoulder, then turned him restlessly toward himself. "What happened to Minho?" He almost screamed.

"He said he wouldn't be able to close the gate from here," Dr. Bang said irritably. "He used his ability against me, I couldn't stop him and he went into the gate, then it closed."

"Is he at the other side?" Chan asked and looked back at the crack in the wall.

"Yes, but I don't know if he could ever come back from there," Dr. Bang said honestly. "Chan..."

"Don't use that voice with me!" Chan asked nervously. "You knew what was going to happen, and yet you were in the whole thing that caused for Minho to open the gate!"

"I was not aware of the consequences," Dr. Bang answered nervously. “You have no idea what me and my colleagues went through every day! Luka Mironov wanted results and we had to seize every opportunity. Once we had the exact location of the gate he couldn't wait to open it! We didn't know what was going to happen afterwards! ”

"Why was it important for you to know what was there?" Chan asked angrily. "You should have known it could be dangerous!"

"Chan, Yellow Wood is only exists because of this gate! Actually we have been studying it for years yet we have never received the exact answers why is it here of all places! This is another dimension and it has completely different lifekind from ours! The storm you saw was not like you or me. It sees itself as a superior being after the gate opened and learned that there was other kind of life here in a different world. ”

"It wanted to destroy this world," Chan replied in a hoarse voice.

"If Minho had stayed here, we might have closed the gate the next day," Dr. Bang explained further. "But Minho escaped and we didn't find him, so the gate remained open."

Chan said nothing, and Dr. Bang turned back to Felix. Meanwhile, Jisung found the first aid box so the man could begin to deal with his younger son’s injury.

"And what now? We’ll let him die there? ”Chan asked as he looked back at the gate.

"No one can open the gate from the outside," Dr. Bang said in a resigned voice.

Chan lowered his head, now he would have preferred to be alone. All he could think about was that Minho didn't deserve this. He really tried to do his best to reverse what had happened. He wanted to close the gate, maybe want to start a new life, even if he didn't know exactly what it meant. Chan could have taught him everything he had left out of his life, he could stop to use his ability too. Minho could have lived a full life if things hadn't turned out this way.

Felix whimpered as their father washed the blood from his arm. Chan turned to look sadly at his brother's injured arm. Felix paid too high of a price to close the gate and defeat the monster.

"Chan?" Changbin asked carefully as he moved closer to his friend. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, of course." Chan nodded, wiping his eyes. "The gate is closed, so ... so ... it's okay," he added, but the next moment something broke inside him. Changbin hugged him gently and he couldn't hold back his tears anymore.

Minho's smile was still there before his eyes. The questions that Minho had asked were all floating in the air and it looked like Chan would never answer them.

"It shouldn't have ended like this," Chan sobbed as Changbin patted his back to reassure him. "Minho didn't deserve this."

"I know, I know," the younger nodded.

****

Minho saw nothing but a dazzling yellow light. His hands were numb, his head aching, but he knew it didn't matter, because now he had to be stronger than the storm. From time to time he felt the creature trying to control him, trying to take over him, but somehow he could close it out. He was thinking of Chan and his friends, he’s doing it all for them, so the pain was more bearable.

"Just let me in!" The storm whispered and Minho closed his eyes for a moment.

"You can't control me," he whispered, thinking of Dr. Bang's words that he said he was stronger than this monster and that Minho had to believe that this was indeed true. If he was the only one who could open the gate, then he had to believe that he could be the only one who could prevent this monster from destroying their world.

His heart clenched for a moment as he remembered his father. Luka Mironov's only dream was to get to know this kind of life that is behind the gate. Even now, Minho did not fully understand why, what the ultimate goal was, because it was obviously not for the gate to be opened. Dr. Bang may have known more about it, Minho didn’t know the answers as always.

"It would be a lot easier for you if you let me in." The sound of the storm was deep and creepy, just like the monster's crawling through the streets of Yellow Wood. Minho hoped the monster was over and no one was hurt by it, but he couldn't be sure.

Minho's whole body throbbed in pain, he sobbed and collapsed to his knees the next minute, he could only hold one arm straight, but he honestly had no idea what he was doing at all. The yellow lights danced around his body, blurring his eyes and it part of him. The boy had always known that he was different from the others and not just because of his special ability. Simply, he was like this storm, something that didn't belong in a world where Chan was.

"Chan…" the boy whispered hoarsely as he thought of the boy's face. He hated himself for not being able to thank him for the kindness and patience he had received from him in recent days. Chan protected him, gave him shelter in his home, and risked everything he could just because od him. There were so much things Minho wanted to tell him, so much more to ask him. But the unspoken words were lonely in the air already.

Somewhere deep inside, Minho knew that fear was only manipulation, but it was terribly real. The storm wanted him to open the gate again and let it remain in his world. Minho was the key, but he didn't want to make the same mistake again.

He’s breathing heavly and with trembling limbs he finally stood up again and looked straight into the yellow eyes of the storm. He was drawn to the idea of doing it for Chan and his friends to save Yellow Wood and doing something right now. He raised his hands again and concentrated as Dr. Bang taught him. It helped hime close out all other thoughts and feelings, closed out fear, and the beach disappeared.

Only the comforting darkness remained and Minho had felt as if he had returned home again. He got used to it, he loved the darkness during the time he spent in the lab. He felt at home and focused only on the yellow eyes that were trying to tear the remainder of his human existence apart. His own screaming seemed unfamiliar as growls and crushing voices filled the darkness around him. The storm seemed smaller than a minute ago, the yellow eyes staring uncertainly at the boy.

****

"Chan… it's time for us to go," Jisung said softly as he walked next to his two friends. Changbin's hand rested on Chan's shoulder, hoping it would reassure their older friend.

"How's Felix?" Chan asked softly, but he still didn't look away from the wall. He didn't know what he was hoping for. Maybe he wanted to belive that the gate would open again and Minho would returns. Yeah, he wanted to think Minho would come back to him. It was a childish idea, but he wanted to see the younger boy reopen the gate.

"Better, Dr. Bang cleaned the wounds on his arm," Jisung replied. "I think he's still in shock."

"That's understandable," Changbin replied, then looked at their friend. "Chan?" He asked carefully, before the older one wiped his eyes again.

"Let's go." It was difficult to say those words, but Chan knew they had no choice. They couldn't stay here, they couldn't wait indefinitely for Minho to return. Chan had to let him go, even if that seemed impossible. If he thought he couldn't really say goodbye to the boy – not that he thought they'd have to say goodbye to each other – it hurtst even more.

Looking back over the past few days, it seemed almost unbelievable that the gate had finally been closed. What was even more unbelivable was that Felix was the only one who got injured and more or less everyone else was fine. Chan was grateful to Woojin, because without his father's weapons, they would probably haven’t survive against the monster.

Chan didn't know how they get back to where the cars were left. For a moment he looked back at the gray building of the lab, only the top of which could be seen from here behind trees. The sun rose behind the building lazily, indicating that another day had started.

"You mustn't talk to anyone about what happened here," Dr. Bang said as he looked through the eight boys. "And about Sasha… I mean you mustn’t say a word about Minho either."

Everyone nodded in silence, but Chan stared at him stiffly. It was clear that they mustn't talk about what had happened here, but the boy was wondering how long he could keep this secret. The destruction of the lab is going to be noticed to everyone, and the monster's body may still be lying in the lobby. Chan thought the government would probably try to cover this up, after all, the lab was under their supervision.

No one will ever know what Minho did for them and this thought broke Chan's heart. Minho was part of their life, but he was not here anymore. Chan hated himself for sitting in the car without a word and letting their father take them home. Felix sat next to him pale and still gasped softly from time to time.

"I'm sorry, Felix." Chan whispered and carefully touched his brother's hand. If he hated himself for some reason, it was because Felix’s injured because of him.

"Hyung, it's okay." Felix whispered back and carefully link their fingers together. "Minho closed the gate," he added, then turned to look out the window. Chan followed suit.

The people of Yellow Wood awakened quietly with the first rays of the sun. The streets were still empty, but Chan knew that in less than half an hour, almost everyone would start their day. Parents go to work, and kids may go to the swimming pool or one of the parks to enjoy every minute of their summer break with their friends. Chan had no idea what they were going to do, he simply felt that he would be unable to go back to the cellar now. The cellar has been Minho's home and if he had to see the empty room he might just find it even harder to let him go. But he had no choice but to let go of the boy, even if it hurt.

****

Minho couldn't even hear his own breathing, and the storm made a screaming sound as the crushing voices grew around its shapeless body. The yellow eyes faded, but Minho began to feel that his power was running low. He was getting exhausted, but he couldn't give up, he had to protect those he loved, he was the only one who could.

The screaming voice was getting sharper, Minho would have liked to push his hand to cover his ears, but now he couldn't do it. He could feel the shapeless body of the storm crashing between his fingers. He was stronger than it is as Dr. Bang had always claimed. Minho believed in his words, he had always believed them, but until now he hadn't realized what he was really capable of defeat this thing.

For a moment, the yellow lights blinded him, and then all the voices were gone, and Minho with a scream felt he is falling into the void under his feet, just like the day the monster told him thir plan. The next time he opened his eyes he found himself at the beach again, the sun warming his face and the familiar feeling of the wet sand beneath his body was almost soothing. He felt weak as he slowly got up from the ground and looked around, but soon realized he was alone. The beach was empty and the yellow eyes weren't watching him anymore.

"I succeeded," the boy whispered, though he himself didn't dare to believe he could overcome the storm.

Where the sandy shore ended, a row of yellow-leafed trees rose. Minho could see the location of the gate, where now there was only a yellow crack. It was closed as it should have been. With uncertain steps, the boy eventually left the beach and stumbled across the yellow-leafed trees to the gate.

When he stopped, he carefully placed one of his shaking his hand onto the yellow crack and stroked it. Memories danced in front of his eyes, Chan's smile, Jisung's confused laugh, Changbin's always sullen but still kind eyes and Felix's kind voice as he helped Minho in the basement to find out which clothes he liked. They were tiny, insignificant memories, but to Minho they meant the world, the happiness, the love he could feel for a moment in all its radiance.

His tears began to fall as he leaned his head against the wall. He wanted to go back, but he wasn't sure it was a good idea to open the gate again. Although apparently the storm had ceased to exist, somehow Minho did not dare to believe he had really overcome it. He knew that if he stayed here, he would be truly alone forever, and although he had no real family in his own world, he still hoped that a family would be waiting for him. Chan told him that they’re friends and friends were like family, and Minho thirsted for this family and the love he received from them.

He pulled away from the wall and wiped his eyes, not taking his eyes off the yellow crack. He shook his head for a minute, but promised himself that whatever was going to happen he wouldn't let Chan and the others to get in trouble again. He will not let anyone to try to destroy those he loves.

Feeling weak, he raised both arms and placed his palms against the wall. As the he began concentrating the crack began to widen and Minho smiled in relief as he was on his way back to Chan and the others. He got a second chance.

****

Returning to real life was harder than Chan had thought. It's been a week since Minho closed the gate, but the boy was still under the influence of it. And not only was he, but so were hisother friends. Chan didn’t know exactly how his father had explained to his mother what had happened that day, but he would not have been able to talk about it.

Dr. Bang later sat down with him and Felix to tell them what was going to happen to the lab. As it turned out, the government decided to close most of the lab where the gate is exactly located. As the building was damaged and the renovation work would take more time, their father seemed to be home with them for the rest of their summer break. Chan didn't understand why he thought it was a good idea to go back to the lab to work, but he also knew he couldn't demand that their father should quit his job and they should leave Yellow Wood forever.

For the first time in a long time, Chan found himself missing Australia. Maybe if they had never moved back to South Korea, they would never have known that there was a gate to another world, they would never have known Minho too. But it was too late to think what would have happened, because what had happened was over.

At Felix's request, Chan went to the ice cream shop where Woojin worked with him. For the past week Chan has been only talking to Changbin and Jisung, even though he knew it was inevitable that they would meet the others soon. They had to talk about what had happened, even if Chan had preferred staying in his dark room for the rest of the summer break.

When he and his younger brother arrived at the ice cream shop, the others were already there. They had to push two tables together so that all eight of them could sit together. Woojin spent their lunch break with them, but apparently no one liked to eat ice cream, so the sweets slowly melted before them.

"So ..." Woojin began as he cleared his throat. "How are you Chan?" He turned to the boy.

"I’m fine," Chan shrugged, and then there was silence.

"This is a difficult time for everyone, I think," Felix said softly, looking down at his bandaged arm. According to their father, the traces of the monster's teeth would remain on Felix's arm forever, even after the wounds had completely healed. "Minho..."

"Don't say his name," Chan asked, his heart squeezing painfully as the younger boy's name was heard and tears began to poke his eyes.

"We need to talk about him, you can't ask us to just forget him," Felix said still softly.

"He closed the gate and did everything he could," said Jisung.

"But he won't be able to come back." Chan's tears began to blur unnoticed. He took a deep breath nervously, if he could, he would have done everything to get Minho to sit with them now.

"Are you sure?" Changbin asked. “If he could go to the other side, he could come back. Only he can open and close the gate. ”

"We don't even know if he's still alive," Hyunjin said softly, and Changbin looked at him nervously. "Sorry, I’m just saying…"

"You're right, unfortunately," Chan said frustrated. "We have no idea what could have happened to him there."

"Hyung…" Felix began, but Chan shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about this," Chan said sadly. “I should have been with him, I should have stopped him, but he told me to leave because Felix is in trouble. Maybe he did it because he didn't want me there, he knew I would stop him to do this. "

"That wouldn't have bothered him, he used his ability against Dr. Bang," Jisung said.

"You're right," Chan nodded, but for some reason he thought Minho couldn't use his ability against him.

For minutes they sat in silence and no one said anything. The silence was reassuring, but it did not eliminate the feeling that Minho was not here. Chan hadn't thought about what would happen when Minho closed the gate in the lab, but of course he hadn't imagined it like this. In his thoughts Minho has always been a part of the post-event images.

"Let's talk about something else," Jeongin said softly, his voice still trembling as he remembered what they were going through in the lab. "I think what happened in the lab brought us close together again."

"For sure," Changbin nodded.

"Then maybe it would be time for us to discuss what was gliding between us," Seungmin continued. "Why our friendship fall apart like this?" The boy asked softly.

Chan didn't want to take part in the conversation, just listened to his friends discuss the differences. The boy felt the breakup of their friendship was his fault somewhere. When Woojin went to university, Chan felt that nothing was going to be like the old way, probably because he couldn't imagine that he had to make that decision soon after the older. They changed a lot, all of them, but something connected them, something to which Chan kept turning his back. He fled from the pressure of being forced into the cellar and produced as many songs as possible so that he would not have to think about what he would do with his life when he graduated from high school.

He didn't even know what he wanted to do with himself, he didn't know if he could leave Yellow Wood, because if Minho ever came back, he wanted to be here. He wouldn’t have liked to leave his father here knowing that he still wanted to work in the laboratory. And he couldn’t just left Felix in Yellow Wood behind. Everything was upside down, and Chan wanted to hope that he could get Minho back one day.

****

Minho gasped on the familiar cold floor of the laboratory. He turned to his back and raised his arms high, whimpering in pain as he is closing the gate behind him. He watched as the gate got smaller and smaller until there was nothing but a yellow glowing crack in the gray wall.

The boy gasped sideways, then sat up on the floor, but as he looked around the room he realized there was no one here. Dr. Bang and his father's body were no longer there, not even Chan and the others.

"How much time could passed?" Minho asked softly, rising slowly from the floor.

The lab walls were familiar, but somehow everything was different. Silence and tranquility surrounded the boy as he stepped out into the hallway among the rubble lying on the ground. He didn't dare to believe he was alone in the whole building, but he didn’t met anyone as he left the gate behind himself. When he reached the back door he found the door open so he exited the building there. It was dark outside, the stars shining brightly on the boy's face and he’s taking a deep breath. He sighed in relief: he could really come back, now he just had to find Chan.

He looked around again before heading toward the damaged fence, but still saw no movement around the building. He hoped that the scientists who had worked here might have realized that playing with the gate was dangerous and that was why the lab was so deserted. Minho sincerely hoped that by closing the gate, it was really over. But the thought that one „maybe” was always hanging in the air didn't let him be entierly calm.

****

That evening, there was not much talk among the Bang family members at dinner. Chan was bored in the food, feeling that he was not hungry, but this had been the case for days and obviously it was not normal. His mother was worried about him since her older son wasn't talking to anyone anymore.

"Chan, have you decided which university to apply to?" His father asked suddenly. The boy looked puzzled at him that he had thought of asking him exactly that.

"What?" He asked.

"The university, you have to hand in the application forms soon, don't you?" He asked.

"I'm not going to university," Chan sighed after a few minutes of silence. His mother blinked in embarrassment, and Felix put down his cutlery.

"But..." their father began.

"I don't want to study anymore," Chan said in a more determined voice. "I don't want to do what you do," he added quietly.

"You don't have to do what I do," he said, but Chan couldn't believe a word. He saw the disappointment in his father’s eyes, but he was prepared for it years ago.

"Then what do you do with yourself?" His mother asked softly.

"I'll figure it out," Chan said nervously and got up from the table. "I'm not hungry," he added, then went down to the cellar. He slammed the door behind him so hard that the whole house shook.

However, as he reached the bottom of the stairs, the cellar looked alarmingly empty without Minho's presence. The clothes Chan gave him were still there in a corner of the couch. Chan sat down on the couch sniffing and pulled up one of the shirts and held it to his chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he whispered desperately and felt unable to let go of the garment. Minho's memory was in the basement, it was his hiding place, it was Chan's hiding place too, but without Minho, the basement was just a cold hole now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter left, I hope you liked the story, thank you for being with me until now :)


	8. Beginning

Yellow Wood was beautiful, Minho hadn't noticed the nice little streets lined with pretty houses before - he hadn't seen much of the city outside the basement of Chan's home. The city was cozy, a place where one would love to spend his childhood and retirement years too. The boy wondered what it would have been like to grow up in such a small town, but he quickly realized that it wasn't his life. For him, the rigid walls of the lab were his home, for many years he felt safe there. And he didn't know about the idyllic little streets of Yellow Wood until he decided to escape the lab.

He shivered as he tried to recall the way to the house where Chan lived. As the sun rose and people started to fill the streets, Minho felt terribly lonely and small between them. He was embrassed feeling the that they were watching him with shocked expressions, hhe was sure that the dry blood on his face and dirty clothes were not an ordinary sight in the city.

Stepping into a side street, the boy leaned against one of the walls of the house there and took a deep breath. He didn't know this place, it was impossible for him to find Chan that way. Even during the time he spent here, he was in the basement or in the car with Chan and the others, and now he felt terribly lost in the streets of Yellow Wood.

****

Chan falling asleep in the basement the night before while still holding the t-shirt that Minho had last worn before they all went to the lab – this was how Felix found him today morning and tried to wakte him up. Chan felt it would have been better if they had never gone to the lab, because then maybe Minho wouldn't be on the other side now.

"Felix, what is it?" Chan asked tiredly as he stretched and slowly opened his eyes. He still felt tired and terribly, it almost became usual.

"Are you hungry? Mom's gone to work, but there's breakfast left for you, "said the younger, Chan hated the pity he saw in his eyes. "Dad had to leave too."

"Where?" Chan asked bluntly, trying to wipe the drowsiness out of his eyes.

"To the lab," Felix replied, swallowing hard. "He got a call, there was an earthquake last night, but it was only near the lab."

"What?" The older boy asked in shock. He remembered very well that it all started about the gate and Minho with an earthquake.

"There was an earthquake in the lab, but it couldn't be felt in the city," Felix repeated.

"An earthquake," Chan repeated and suddenly got up from the couch and looked at his brother excitedly. "Minho ..."

"That's what I thought too," Felix said, grabbing his brother's arm. "Changbin and Jisung are in the kitchen, come upstairs soon," he added, then left his brother alone in the basement again.

Chan turned to the map, which was still hanging on the wall, with printed articles and handwritten explanations around it. Everything they knew about Minho and the gate was hanging there on the wall. Chan didn’t dare to believe that the gate could indeed open again, not daring to hope that Minho might be back, but inside he still longed for the boy to find the way back here.

After going upstairs he went to the bathroom first, washed his face and studied his reflection in the mirror for a moment. Even though he was sleeping at night, he looked terrible, only a shadow of his old self, and it was not at all good to see. He finally took a deep breath and went into the kitchen, where Felix sat at the table with Jisung and Changbin.

Chan's noticed that Jisung and Felix held hands. Felix was happy, despite what had happened, and Chan knew it was all thanks to Jisung. After all, Chan didn't hate the idea that one of his best friends and his brother were together, actually Jisung was probably the best choice for Felix from all people to date. His brother was still paler than his old self, but his smile still made everyone happy. Chan didn't know if the monster's bite was going to be a problem for Felix in the future, but he sincerely hoped that the wounds would soon heal and that it might be easier to get over it for him too. Although he wasn't really sure, any of them would ever forget the events they went through in the lab. All of this still seemed unbelivable, but at the same time they were all aware that, unfortunately, everything they saw was real. The gate really existed, just like the monster and who knows what other horrors that hide behind the gate.

"You look terrible," Changbin stated as Chan sat down at the table and pulled a plate of toast in front of himself.

"I know I didn't sleep well," Chan replied, then began to eat. "Is it true that there was an earthquake the night before?"

"Your father said it, but it was only near the lab," said Jisung. "You know, there was an earthquake before we found Minho."

"I know," Chan nodded and looked at his friends. "I don't want to hope Minho has anything to do with this… but what if he is the cause of this again?"

"We will only know this if we go to explore around the lab," Felix replied. “If Minho is back, I'm sure he hasn't stayed in the lab building, but he might still be nearby. And if he got to the city, he might have lost because he didn't know Yellow Wood. ”

"Felix ..."

"I know you don't want to hope, but it's no coincidence that this earthquake happened," his brother replied excitedly. “Woojin-hyung keeps an eye on the street at the ice cream shop, I talked to him while you slept. If Minho appear there, he'll call us right away. "

Chan nodded gratefully, but he still didn't dare to believe that Minho might be here somewhere in the city. According to his father, there was little chance Minho survived at the other side, or at least it was what he is telling him when they talked about what happened in the lab once. Chan hated that conversation and every new piece of information his father had shared with him seemed like a blank explanation. Chan loved his father, but he couldn't help thinking that he was as wrong as Luka Mironov. Both of them were involved in using Minho to open the gate, and it still left Chan uneasy.

His father was just as curious as Luka Mironov, but obviously they were interested in this research from a scientific point of view. After all, he has repeatedly stated that there was another dimension there, where they could have explored a completely different lifekind than theirs. Chan didn’t understand why this was so important, but decided it was better not to know exactly what was going on in his father's and colleagues' minds when they decided to support Luka Mironov's plan. It didn't matter because Chan thought they both risked Minho's life by making him open the gate.

****

Minho closed his eyes and focused on Chan. He was afraid that he would not find the boy easily, as he was very exhausted after defeating the storm behind the gate. But he didn't know Yellow Wood and had no other chance of finding Chan than using his ability. The alley he chose for doing it was empty, he hoped no one would go there until he found the boy.

He gasped for a moment as he began the search. He was afraid that something would go wrong again, but soon Chan's figure was drawn in the darkness. The boy's eyes were filled with tears at the familiar face, but Chan was just a shadow of his old self. His heart was clenched at the sight, the boy looked tired and frustrated as he talked to someone.

"Chan!" Minho said in a trembling voice and stepped closer to the boy. Chan lifted his head and looked around.

"Did you hear that?" The boy asked, his voice echoing in the void around them. Minho couldn't hear what the others had to say to him, he just focused on Chan, so he only saw and heard him, no one else. “It was just… like I heard Minho. I'm not kidding, I heard his voice! ”

"Chan, I'm here!" Minho said in a desperate voice, hoping the older would hear him. He felt very weak, but he couldn't give up so quickly, he wanted to find Chan, he wanted the boy to know that he had returned and defeated the monster beyond the gate.

****

"Are you all right?" Felix asked in a worried voice, studying his brother's face. Chan looked around in the dining room, but wasn’t surprised that no one believed him that he had heard Minho's voice. Probably he just imagined it, because he wanted to believe that the younger boy was here somewhere in the city and alive.

"Chan?" Asked Jisung carefully and looked at his friend with concern.

"I heard his voice again!" Chan said, and suddenly he got up from the table, causing his chair to fall over. "Minho? Minho, where are you? ”He asked in a desperate voice and made a circle around the table.

"Chan, I don't think he..." Changbin began cautiously, rising from the table.

"I really heard it, he’scalling my name as if he was quite close..." Chan suddenly paused and looked in front of himself. It was as if he saw Minho standing by the wall for a moment - it was hard to explain, but it was as if the boy was just a moment long vision. “Have you seen that?” He looked at Felix first, then his other two friends.

"Hyung…" Felix began in a worried voice, but Chan shook his head.

"I saw him for a moment, he stood there, I really saw him!" Chan said nervously and walked back to his overturned chair. "Minho?" He asked, still looking at the space where Minho's figure had flashed before. Jisung and Felix exchanged a worried look.

"Hyung, we heard nothing and saw nothing," Felix replied cautiously, rising from her chair, then stepped beside his brother. "Maybe you should still try to rest today."

"No, now I understand, Minho is here," Chan said. "He is here and he is looking for me!" He suddenly started crying, his whole body trembling as his tears flowing, but he smiled. Minho was somewhere in Yellow Wood looking for him, which made the boy happy and hopeful again.

****

Minho smiled as he opened his eyes, he found Chan, and the boy saw him for a minute and heared his voice. Despite his tired limbs, he quickly rose from the ground and started running, leaving streets behind himself. People still strangely staring at him, but now it didn't matter because he knew where to look for Chan.

When he found the house, Chan waited in the porch for him, sitting on the stairs leading to the front door, and Minho feared it was just a beautiful dream. His eyes were full of tears again, but he smiled as Chan got up from the stairs and took a step towards him.

"Chan." Minho said in a trembling voice and ran to the boy, then they hugged each other tightly. The boy started sobbing as he clung to the older’s shirt and trying to made sure Chan was real and not just a sweet dream. The boy's scent slowly calmed him down and Minho smiled again as they looked into each other's eyes.

"How did you get back?" Chan asked with a smile as he stroked Minho's face with the back of his hand. Apparently he didn't dare to believe too that Minho was really here and he could hold him this close.

"I opened the gate again," Minho replied sniffling, gently stroking Chan's hair then his face. He wanted to remember the touch of the older’s skin, the smell of his hair and his beautiful shining smile. "I was afraid it wouldn't work, but I had to come back... I had to come back to you and the others."

Chan said nothing, only hugging him again. He thought he would never see the boy again, that he could never hug him, teach him things, hear his voice, tell him how important he had become him in this short time they spent together. Even now he was afraid that this was just a mirage, just a beautiful dream and Minho could slip out of his hands at any moment.

"Minho?" Felix's voice brought them back to reality. The younger boy stood in the open door and looked at them in disbelief. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, Felix, it's good to see you again," Minho nodded, and the next moment Felix ran to him to hug him.

Minho laughed softly as he stroked the boy's blonde locks. As his eyes met Chane again he was more than grateful, the older boy looked at him with so much love in his eyes that he had never received before. Minho felt he had finally found his way home and was really hoping that his second chance would not be ruined.

****

After a refreshing shower, Minho sat in the basement again in Chan's clothes, the familiar environment filled his heart with warmth and he felt like that he arrived home finally. The memory of the days spent here was still a pleasant memory for the boy. Minho was enjoying himself here, even though they were all in danger then. But now not only the five of them were in the cellar, but all nine of them were sitting here. Minho was happy as he looked at the boys – his friends, everyone was alive and looking healthy. And that was the most important to him, he wanted to protect their lives by closing the gate.

"So that storm is gone?" Changbin asked after Minho told them exactly what had happened at the other side. They listened intently to what Minho was going through, but Chan was sure the boy hadn't told the painful details to spare them.

"Yes, I think I could put an end to it," Minho replied, then swallowed. "But I'm afraid we're not safe yet... I honestly have no idea."

"You closed that gate, didn't you?" Woojin asked, Minho nodded.

"Yes, when I came back, I think nothing else came over here... after the storm had disappeared there was nothing but the beach left at the other side," the boy replied.

"What if the lab opens again?" Seungmin asked, staring at each of his friends for a moment. “Maybe someone else wanted to know that dimension, not just Minho's father. Someone else might try to open the gate again. ”

"Yes, maybe," Chan nodded. “But now the gate is closed and for the time being we know no one else who can open it. Minho saved Yellow Wood and us,” he added.

"I honestly don't think we'll ever be safe in this city after all that happened," Hyunjin said in a gloomy voice. "If anyone else knows that this gate is here and is curious they can start all over again."

"Only if they can open the gate," Felix replied. “It seemed like there was no one else in the lab who had the same ability as Minho. Minho was important to them. ”

The nine boys were stayed for a long time in the cellar that day. Chan couldn't take his eyes off Minoh, though they hadn't separated for so long, but now it was as if he’d got back a missing piece from his life. Chan didn't know what love was, but he knew when he looked at Minho that everything else had stopped to exist around him and now they had plenty of time to get to know each other.

****

Four months later

Chan and Minho were sitting in one of the tiny local reastaurants, it was snowing outside and everyone was probably doing their last minute Christmas shopping. Minho was drinking hot chocolate with small marshmallows floating on top. Shortly afterwards, Dr. Bang sat at the table with them.

"How are you?" He asked kindly, taking off his gloves and slipping out of his coat.

"Good," Chan replied. "Do you have the documents?" He asked excitedly.

"Yes, they are here," Dr. Bang said, placing a small box on the table in front of them.

Minho looked unsure at Chan, the little box contained Minho's whole life, or more precisely the part of his life he had never known. Chan was convinced his father to help them hide Minho, and he agreed to keep Minho in the cellar until they found a house in the city that Chan could rent for them. In the meantime, Chan had found a job, thanks to Woojin, he started working part time in the ice cream shop. Of course, in the beginning, he hated the place, he was easily get annoyed by whining kids and hysterical teenage girls, but as the summer break ended, the number of guests began to get fewer and soon became quite bearable to work in the store. And Woojin was a very good colleague, Chan could rely on him for anything. In addition to that, he still had time to work on new songs with Changbin and Jisung.

They moved away from Chan's parents a month ago, only renting a tiny house that was far from downtown, but it was still one of the best options in Yellow Wood. Minho actually loved it there, which wasn’t a surprise since he only had a room with an uncomfortable bed in the lab. Ever since the boy returned from the other side he didn’t use his ability, he had tried to live an average life, even though it was really hard at the beginning. For the time being, they agreed that Minho would be home until he was ready to live a full life outside the lab - he still had a lot to learn and perhaps he was not fully prepared for basic stuffs that come with living outside of the lab. Chan wasn't sure he could teach Minho everything, but he tried to be patient and tried to answer all the boy's questions.

"Look into it," Chan said in an encouraging voice, so Minho reached for the box and opened it carefully.

The first document he got from the package was his birth certificate. Chan leaned in closer to see the data on the paper - the data was in line with what Chan and his friends had previously discovered. Minho is really born on 25.10.1998. in Moscow, his mother's name was Lee Minkyung, and where his father's name should be the paper was blank. Chan could see the sadness on the boy's face as he watched the empty cube on the paper for a few minutes, well aware that Minho wanted to know who his real father was, but he seemed to be never able to find that out.

The younger eventually set aside the document and reached for the next one, which was the adoption document. Luka Mironov officially adopted Minho as they knew it too, with the documents of the request of the name change attached to it too - according to which Minho's official name was actually Sasha Mironov.

The next document was Luka Mironov's death certificate and heritage papers. As it turned out, he’s left most of his money to Minho, which frankly surprised them both, but Luka Mironov seemed to have wished that once Minho could live his life outside the lab. He offered his possessions and some money for charitable purposes, and he did not forget about the Yellow Wood Laboratory. Minho didn't really understands what money is yet, of course he had no idea what to do with his heritage. But Chan knew that Minho needed that money to start a new life.

"What's that?" Minho asked and took out a small plastic card from the box.

"Your ID," Dr. Bang replied.

"But this… my name is Lee Minho here," the boy said, looking up at him confused.

"Yes, you said you wanted to start a new life," he said. "This is the key to your new life, and there are a couple more useful things in that box," he added as Minho took out two more papers.

"Graduation?" Chan asked and looked at his father. "Dad, he has no idea ..."

“I know, but Minho is already of age. I thought it would be better if I did this for him. ”

"What is a language exam?" Minho asked uncertainly as he studied another paper in his hand. "Russian…?"

“With this you can prove that you can speak Russian as your mother tongue. I thought if you wanted to look for a job, it might be useful. You could be a translator or something, ”replied Dr. Bang and Chan was thankful that his father did this for them. These documents allowed Minho to integrate into society. Of course, they were aware that this was going to be a longer process, since Minho didn’t know the basic things about life, but Chan was there to help him.

"Thank you," Minho said gratefully and returned the documents to the box. "Dr. Bang, you’ve always helped me a lot, and I am grateful for everything that you done for me. ”

"You don't have to be grateful, Minho, I'm glad you're alive," he said in a kind voice. "And I sincerely hope you find your calculations in this life out of the lab," he added.

"I've already found what I wanted," Minho said and he smiled as he is looking at Chan, who held the boy's hand under the table.

Chan was happy and the main reason for his happiness was Minho. Over the past months, they were getting closer to each other, which was natural, Minho had no one else to count on except Chan. The boy wanted Minho to know that he would always be there for him, whatever happens in the future.

"What about the lab?" Chan asked before his father left for home.

"You know, the government isn't sure if the whole lab will be shut down or not," he replied, shrugging. "Of course no one talks about the gate, unfortunately I don't know much either."

Chan had sincerely hoped that they would shut down the lab, but unfortunately over the past few months, it seemed the government was more engaged in renovation work in the building. The building was about to be repaired, Dr. Bang went to work more or less, and Chan knew they were looking for Minho for a while, but then gave up. Given that Luka Mironov was dead, his share of research in the lab ceased. The boy sometimes feared they might still be looking for Minho in the future, as there were not many boys like him in the country, but for the time being, they might have been safe. Chan wasn't sure Minho would feel comfortable in a bigger city, so Yellow Wood was the best place to live for both of them. And they didn't know yet what the future holds for them.

****

Minho, of course, did not know what a "boyfriend" was and at first he could hardly put his feelings into words, but Chan understood. He didn't need words, it was enough to look into Minho's eyes and he knew they belonged to each other. Before that, Chant didn't care if he'd ever have a family or anyone with whom he could live the rest of his life. But Minho was here and he was the most important thing is Chan’s life. The things they went through together formed such a strong bond between them that Chan was sure he couldn't love anyone else in this life than Minho. The older realized that all this time he was afraid of growing up, but with Minho by his side it didn't seem so scary anymore.

Minho was innocent, did not understand much, and had a childish curiosity about the simplest of everyday things. Chan liked him being like this, even if it was sometimes difficult. He liked to answer his questions, he liked to explain things he didn't understand - because that brought them closer together.

"Chan, are we a family now?" Minho asked quietly that night as they lay together on the couch in the small house they had rented. They watched some silly show on TV, Minho laughed a lot, but Chan didn't really pay attention to it. Instead, he enjoyed being able to hug the younger boy.

"Yes," Chan replied without hesitation.

"That's good." Minho smiled and turned around gently on the couch to look into Chan's eyes. "Chan, I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad you're here too, Minho," he whispered and smiled at the boy. With one of his hands he softly stroked the boy’s face and leaned closer to kiss him on the lips gently. Minho smiled into the kiss. "I love you, Minho," Chan added as he looked into the boy's glittering eyes again.

"I love you too, Chan." Minho smiled and leaned closer. They fell asleep on the couch that night, and Chan felt that everything was fine. Many things were still ahead of them anyways, but they were together, Minho was alive and the gate was closed for a long time now, and no monster wandered on the streets of Yellow Wood. And though Minho was still shaking in his sleep at night, Chan was there to protect him from all the bad things.

The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone!  
> Thank you so much for reading Road Not Taken :) It is finished now, I really hope that you liked it even if it wasn't the best :)  
> Honestly it was really hard to translate it from my mother tongue to English, but hopefully there isn't many mistakes. I'm sorry if some parts are written really badly, but honestly I enjoyed writing this fic for you guys:)  
> So I would like to thanks for all the kudos, all the comments and support and hits on this story.  
> Take care and don't forget to eat nice meals and drink a lot of water :)  
> I love you guys, thank you so much for all the love you gave me:)  
> Bye,  
> Kat

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of this fic. So the fic is heavily inspired by Stranger Things and I hope you'll like it, it won't be too long, but I'll try my best to update regulary.  
> Also I am really sorry if anything is written wrongly, english is not my first language and I wrote this in my native language than translated it to english by myself:)


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